March is Women’s History Month, Cortland League of Women Voters has big plans

John Harrison: [00:00:00] Good afternoon everyone. It’s John Harrison in the Cayuga Health as part of Centralis Health System, sponsored studios of X 1 0 1, always classic. And in the studio today, a very special guest, Kim Cameron, the President of the League of Women Voters of Cortland County. Kim, thanks so much for joining me today.

Kim Cameron: Thank you so much for having me today.

John Harrison: Oh, it’s always a pleasure to have you in this studio. It’s been, honestly, too long since our last chat and catch up, but, it’s March now, which means hopefully the weather is gonna be getting better. I keep saying it on my show. I keep saying it to everyone I see.

I just. Want it to be warm out. But with March, it’s also Women’s History Month,

Kim Cameron: correct? It is Women’s History Month, and it’s supposed to get up to about 60 degrees in the next couple of days.

John Harrison: Yes, very excited about that. It’s gonna be perfect weather for getting out there and going to some of the great events that the League of Women Voters has planned for March.

So, you know, without further ado, let’s just jump right into it. Tell us all the great stuff going on.

Kim Cameron: Okay. First, let me tell you about an event that we’ve. Already had.

Which was last night we had a dinner and a discussion at the CNY Living History Center. We had [00:01:00] Sarah Catterall, who has written the book, Amelia Bloomer.

Amelia Bloomer actually lived, I don’t know how long she lived in Homer, but she certainly was born in Homer. Right. And spent time in Homer. And, she was a women’s activist. And what Sarah was talking to us about though was not necessarily about Amelia Bloomer, it was more about women’s history and how women, their history is not as known as it should be.

John Harrison: Right?

Kim Cameron: So we know a lot about men’s history, but we don’t know all that much about. Women’s history, and it was looking back into the 1850s and the 1920s to look at reasons why today even we don’t know women’s history very well. So that was really cool. And that will be available on our YouTube channel, in probably about a week or so.

John Harrison: Awesome. Yeah, that’ll be great to go and catch up. I know. I, I had talked about the event in my show as part of my, you know, I do a little community calendar segment, talk about some, some good stuff going on. So I, I made sure to. Give you that, that plug and [00:02:00] shout out. But for anyone who didn’t make it, it will be on the league of League of Women Voters of Cortland County’s YouTube page.

So make sure to look out for that. Now that’s past events that people can only look to the internet to, to experience now. Right. What about future events that people can mark their calendars down for?

Kim Cameron: Absolutely. So future event, we will be having a virtual talk. That is going to be on the Disabilities Rights Act, and it’s going to be the women who are responsible for getting the dis the American Disabilities Act passed.

John Harrison: Yes. Yeah.

Kim Cameron: And that’s gonna be a virtual talk that anybody can attend. It’s completely free. We’re actually, organizing it with four other leagues in central New York.

John Harrison: Oh, wow.

Kim Cameron: So is a. Combination. And it’s being, hosted by the National Women’s History Museum.

So they are going to be talking to us about, as I said, the Disability Act and the women who are responsible for it.

John Harrison: Right.

Kim Cameron: It’s gonna be called nothing about us Without Us. [00:03:00] Women who led the Disability rights Movement, and that’s gonna be on March. 15th, which is a Sunday at four o’clock in the afternoon.

John Harrison: All right. Perfect.

Kim Cameron: You can find out about that on our website.

John Harrison: Awesome. Yeah. Ev, go to the website for more information again, you said that was Sunday, March 15th, right around 4:00 PM online virtual.

So from the comfort of your own home, don’t even have to go anywhere.

Kim Cameron: Exactly.

John Harrison: Yeah. And that’s, that’s a great way to do it.

Kim Cameron: We also have a book club this month.

John Harrison: Oh, awesome.

Kim Cameron: So we will be hosting a book club at the All My Friends Bookstore.

On March 25th, it’s seven o’clock and the book we’re reading is The Undocumented Americans.

And that is all about, it’s stories by women who were, on DACA and who no longer are, but there are stories about these women, their lives basically.

John Harrison: Yeah.

Kim Cameron: So that’s on March 25th at 7:00 PM Anyone who wants to come, you can read the book, you can get a copy of the book at all. My friends’ bookstore.

John Harrison: Yeah. A lot of buzz about [00:04:00] all my friends, books do down in, in Courtland. That’s awesome. Nice. Book club. And again, that’s towards the end of March. But it gives you a couple of weeks to pick up the book now and, and read through it and, you know, kind of. Make sure you’re, you’re bringing something to the table to, to discuss.

Kim Cameron: That’s right. Another couple of things that we’re doing, anyone who follows our legislative corner in the Courtland standard we had just had an article that was moving us from. Black History Month in February into, women’s History Month in March.

And we had a large article about black women who have been very influential in the activist movement.

And now as we get into March, we’ll have a couple of articles, throughout the month, one’s going to be on the Equal Rights Amendment.

Which is still not passed Right. Yet. Yeah. And, so we’ll be talking about that in our next article. And then we’ll have another one after that. We’re not quite sure what we’re gonna work that on.

John Harrison: Awesome. But Kim, any, anything else on the docket, you know, coming

Kim Cameron: up in [00:05:00] March? Absolutely. Yeah. So we also have a grant, we have a grant from the League of Wind Voters of the United States to engage young people

In the voting process. Yeah. And in the past, whenever we’ve had these types of grants, we’ve gone out and we’ve asked kids, you know, are you registered to vote?

And if you’re registered, do you actually vote? This time we’re taking a different approach. This time we’re actually going out and we’re saying, why is it important to vote? So we’ll be doing, we have a March Madness event going on at TC three. Awesome. And we’ll be tabling there four times in March.

John Harrison: Oh, wow.

Kim Cameron: All right. Yeah. In order to kind of launch this grant proposal that we have.

John Harrison: And that’s, that’s a great angle to, to attack it at. ’cause you know, it’s, it’s so easy to just kind of go out there and say, Hey, you should go vote. But really getting to the, the point of like, well, why should you vote?

Exactly. That’s why does that really matter? And to me, I think voting is one of the most important things you can do, in terms of, you know, getting your voice heard. Because at the end of the day, right, like that’s. [00:06:00] You go out, you vote for what you believe in and vote for what you, you back, and what you stand for.

And that’s, that’s how you participate in our, in our, our representative democracy.

Kim Cameron: Let’s, let’s keep working on that one.

John Harrison: Yeah.

Kim Cameron: Unfortunately, New York State does not have a very good track record and actually getting people to vote.

John Harrison: Right.

Kim Cameron: Yeah. Have a good track record and getting people registered to vote.

But not necessarily to vote.

John Harrison: Yeah.

Kim Cameron: So, as I like to tell young people. My vote counts the same as your vote, and if you don’t vote, that’s kind of fine with me. Then us old people can, rule the country.

John Harrison: Right.

Kim Cameron: And at that point they kind of go, wait a minute. I’m not sure that’s exactly what I want.

John Harrison: Yeah. But yeah, super important to, to get out there and vote. Kim, thanks so much for, for coming into the studio today and, and. Chat with me about some of these great events coming up and, some really important issues too and, and things we want to have people on, you know, on people’s minds. Anything else, on your mind, anything else you wanna share?

Just, as we wrap up and come to the end of our time?

Kim Cameron: Just, I [00:07:00] encourage people to be aware.

Of things like voting and how important it is in our society.

John Harrison: Yeah.

Kim Cameron: The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization. And we focus on trying to encourage people to register, to vote and to vote.

John Harrison: Of course. Yeah. Well, Liz, thanks so much for joining again. President of the League of Women Voters of Cortland County. I, I can’t say it enough. Thanks so much for coming into the studio today.

Kim Cameron: Thank you very much for having me.

John Harrison: Of course. And for everyone listening at home, it’s been John Harrison on X 1 0 1.