A New Day Beyond ERA

A yellow circle with orange text on it and yellow text below on an orange background

This button was made for the American Library Association, which is a nonprofit organization to support librarians and libraries. In the 1970s and 1980s the ALA supported the Equal Rights Amendment with several buttons.

The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed to guarantee equal rights for women in both 1923 and 1972. The ERA passed Congress and was proposed for ratification on March 22, 1972 with a seven year deadline for ratification. As the deadline approached advocates protested for an extension and, as a result of these protests, Congress moved the deadline to June 30, 1982. The ERA fell three states short of ratification by the extended deadline. The National Women's Conference Committee declared July 1, 1982 A New Day Beyond ERA, to rededicate themselves to the principles of women's rights. These women dedicated themselves, not just to continuing to work for passage of the ERA, but to working for a variety of women's issues from childcare to politics. They held demonstrations in cities across the country.