Create a Movement from Chaos: How To Change the Present and the Future
Heather Cox Richardson (L) at the recent Chicago Humanities Festival with William Howell.
Everyone in this country is trying to get clarity on the overwhelming confusion caused by daily changes to politics, the economy, business, healthcare, education, culture, and “the pillars of American society.”
And it is women—specifically older women—who are organizing, enlisting male allies, and taking action.
“We are beyond ‘let’s talk about it’ and into a movement,” says Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College History Professor, and author of the 2023 bestseller, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America.
Speaking recently at the Chicago Humanities Festival, in conversation with William Howell, author, political scientist, and dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Government and Policy, Richardson says, “I see American people standing up. I am doing my part. We are 100% in this together. We are beyond ‘let’s talk about it’ and into a movement.”
“I see #American people #standingup. I am doing my part. We are 100% in this together. We are beyond “let’s talk about it” and into a #movement. –@HC_Richardson”
Author of the daily newsletter, “Letters from an American,” Richardson told the sold-out crowd of 1,000 people, “We don’t talk about power, and the power actually belongs to us.”
Citing the women-driven protests and gatherings in April of more than 5 million people across the country, Richardson says, “What is understudied is the extraordinary amount of organization to fight back, especially among older women.”
“Carpe The Chaos,” is one of the 9 Leadership Power Tools Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead, created and uses in webinars and trainings. “In a time of chaos, whether it’s economic, or social, or within your organization...it’s hard to keep your eyes on the prize, your focus on the vision, your hands steady at the wheel.” And yet, she writes, “A counterintuitive skill that can help anyone thrive in times of change and disruption is to embrace the chaos as opportunity.”
“A counterintuitive #skill that can help anyone #thrive in times of #change and #disruption is to #embrace the #chaos as #opportunity. –@takeleadwomen”
Read more in Take The Lead on 9 Leadership Power Tools
What is happening in this country is happening across the globe. New ODI Global “research underscores how women’s movements are leading the push for democratic governance and inclusion, particularly in contexts of eroding civic space or where democracies are increasingly authoritarian,” the ODI reports.
“Feminist movements have been at the forefront of democratic struggles for decades. But for too long, their critical role has been ignored,” ODI reports. Secular institutions are a critical lifeline for women’s movements seeking to hold onto their rights and defend democracy.”
As the 100-day milestone of the new administration recently passed, resulting in a “major realignment in the the U.S.,” Richardson says, she participates in almost daily virtual class to mobilize for participation in action. Mostly the calls are all women, she says. “We just need to invite men” in order to solicit allyship and involve more people in this dubious period in history.
Learn more from Gloria Feldt on activism
“It is easy to react to everything all the time.” Yet, “There is a shared history and a set of values,” and it is ideal to “go back to noble principles and find a common language.”
“It is easy to #react to everything all the time...There is a shared #history and a set of #values. Go back to #noble #principles and find a #commonlanguage. –@HC_Richardson”
A major concern, she says as a historian, is efforts to return the U.S. to a time of gendered stereotypes “putting women back into positions they were in during the 1920s.” The overall move is to reduce freedoms for women economically, personally, socially, and in healthcare.
Read more in Take The Lead on women’s movements
Historically, women responded with movements of suffrage, reproductive freedom, as well as drives for safety from racism, violence, and sexual assault, as well as equal pay to achieve fairness and equity.
“You don’t just accept what’s there when you lead,” Feldt said at the recent Take the Lead event, “Women, Wealth and Power: Lilly Ledbetter and the Fight for Equal Pay.” Following the screening of the film, “Lilly,” Feldt said, “Lilly could have gone home when they tried to get her fired and blocked her, but she kept fighting for the rest of us.”
“You don’t just #accept what’s there when you #lead. –@takeleadwomen”
See more in Take The Lead on Lilly Ledbetter
Becoming involved in the political process can start early, according to a new study at the University of Notre Dame. Researchers “found that when women candidates run for office, the adolescent girls who see them are more likely to vote when they’re of age to do so,” The Story Exchange Reports.
“The team involved in the study followed some 6,000 adolescent girls on their respective journeys to adulthood, beginning their research effort in 2002. Those in the study pool who were exposed to the campaigns of viable women candidates in their formative years were more likely to grow up to vote in both presidential and non-presidential elections,” the study shows.
Read more in Take The Lead on uncertainty
And more women of color are holding office, according to a new study of state legislatures following the 2024 elections by the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). Latinas hold 214 seats, or 2.9% of the total.
For women of color, Black women hold 399 seats, or 5.4% of state legislative seats. Latinas hold 214 seats, or 2.9% of the total. Asian American/Pacific Islander Women hold 107 seats, breaking the 2023 record of 100, accounting for 1.4% of the nation’s state legislative seats. Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian Women hold 44 seats, a new record but only .6% of the total number of seats. Middle Eastern/North African Women increased from 14 to 17 seats.
Read more in Take The Lead on women running for office
White women hold 1,718 seats, a drop from 2023 and just 23.3% of the nation’s state legislative seats.
“It’s encouraging to see increasing diversity among women serving in state legislative seats,” said CAWP Director Debbie Walsh, “but the broader context tells a different story. The 2024 election led to only modest gains for the number of women holding state legislative seats, and women of all backgrounds are still significantly underrepresented in state legislatures. Women now hold just a third of these seats, a significant improvement from the 11% they held 45 years ago, but still a long way from 50%.”
But the number is rising, as are the numbers of women organizing, protesting and taking action to create a successful movement for change at a time of great uncertainty.
“Confusion is the plan, to flood the zone, get headlines all the time, and create confusion to create a narrative,” Richardson says. “Things are changing constantly. What was true a month ago is no longer true.”
“#Confusion is the plan, to flood the zone, get #headlines all the time, and create #confusion to create a #narrative. Things are #changing constantly. What was #true a month ago is no longer true. –@HC_Richardson”
Read more in Take The Lead on what leaders can do now
The enigmatic culture must not deter the energy to act to create and succeed in a movement. And that is what is happening in the country today, Richardson notes.
“More people are organizing on social media, more people are running for office, and more universities are standing up.” She adds that a great sign of hope is that “the biggest problem in publishing is they cannot publish copies of the pocket constitutions fast enough.”
