More than 130 people gathered in Santa Monica on Constitution Day to honor Gloria Steinem. The event raised more than $80,000 toward recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The event, Unfinished: Cocktails & Conversation for Gender Equality, was among the first major Los Angeles gatherings for the ERA since Steinem died Sept. 2. It benefited ERA Coalition Forward, a 501(c)(3) organization where Steinem was a co-founding board member.
Guests included board members Alyssa Milano and Lisa Ann Walter, along with Christine Lahti, Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins, Blair Imani and Sasha Farber. Katherine Spillar, executive director of the Feminist Majority Foundation and executive editor of Ms. magazine, also attended. Poet Yazmin Monet Watkins performed, and comedian Dulo hosted. Chair emerita Carol Jenkins appeared in a tribute video. A short film by Culture House was screened with its founders in attendance.
"The Equal Rights Amendment has waited over 100 years. Every dollar raised that night brings us closer to recognition of the ERA as the 28th Amendment," Milano said.
"Gloria spent her life on this amendment and did not live to see it recognized. That is the work we carry now," said Zakiya Thomas, president and CEO of ERA Coalition Forward. "The people in that room understood that this is not a commemoration. It's a campaign for our rights, and it continues."
Glass Ladder Group founder Sabrina K. Garba moderated a conversation about how long the fight for the amendment has already taken. Walter, the organization's board co-chair, said her commitment began with a childhood subscription to Ms., the magazine Steinem co-founded.
"It never made sense to me why we were not equal ... I took my babysitting money allowance, and I saved it up until I could afford the first year of subscription to Ms. magazine," Walter said.
Artist Mary Harris painted the scene as the evening unfolded. The finished work is titled "In Love & Memory of Gloria Steinem."
Range Media Partners donated the venue. Dia Natural Wine, Frenchwood, Le Great Outdoor, Pilate-ology, Pizanna and The Lip Bar provided in-kind support.
Donations to ERA Coalition Forward can be made at givebutter.com/c/unfinished-cocktails-conversation-for-gender-equality.
Edited by SMDP Staff