Equal Rights Amendment Bus Tour comes to Mary Baldwin University

A tour bus affiliated with the non-partisan group VAratifyERA that is traveling across Virginia will come to the Mary Baldwin University campus from 4 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday in the Student Activities Center.

The VAratifyERA “10 Days of ERA” bus tour is stopping at college campuses for rallies and information sessions to promote Virginia’s historic opportunity to become the 38th and final state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), ensuring that gender equality is part of the U.S. Constitution and completing a process that began 46 years ago.

Hosted by the Mary Baldwin College for Women, the event is open to the entire university and the wider community.

“We are so pleased to welcome VAratifyERA to Staunton with this wonderful opportunity to educate and engage our community in the ongoing work for equal rights,” said Carey Usher, MBCW dean. “Our students have been preparing for the visit with information sessions, a lecture with Dean Martha Walker, and a film screening and discussion.”

The bus’s stop at MBU features Delegate Jennifer Carroll Foy (D), the chief patron for the Virginia House of Delegates, who will speak about the importance of the ERA. A petition in favor of ratification will be available for signing, and the tour organizers have the goal of delivering 20,000 signatures to the Virginia General Assembly in January.

Earlier in the day, the bus will also visit the University of Virginia and James Madison University, and will make stops at a total of 16 colleges and universities over the course of the tour.