The Women’s Committee is part of We Stand Together / Estamos Todos Juntos (WST/ETJ), an issue-based, nonpartisan community organization formed on Martha’s Vineyard in November 2016. Its mission is to unite, organize and educate ourselves to protect our rights, our planet, and our democracy. In addition to the Women’s Committee, WST/ETJ includes committees committed to racial justice and human dignity, the environment, and education. It currently meets every other Thursday from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. at the West Tisbury library. (Check the We Stand Together Facebook page for dates and updates.)

Women’s Committee members have been involved in an array of activities, including —

• Organizing transportation to the D.C. Women’s March on January 21, 2017
• Marching in Washington, Boston, Falmouth, and Martha’s Vineyard (among other places) on January 21, 2017
• Organizing an International Women’s Day standout at Five Corners on March 8, 2017
• Volunteering at a summer fundraiser for iVote, a national organization fighting to secure and expand access to the ballot
• Attending a one-day workshop for organizers sponsored by Emerge Massachusetts. Emerge America trains Democratic women to run for office and manage campaigns. It has affiliates in 22 states.
• Testifying at a public hearing held by the Cape & Islands Commission on the Status of Women
• Lobbying on Beacon Hill for a Massachusetts child marriage law (S785)
• Attending the Indivisible Massachusetts statewide conference in mid-November 2017
• Organizing the 2018 Women’s Winter Film Series
• Writing a letter to the editor on preventing gun violence that was published in both the Martha’s Vineyard Times and the Vineyard Gazette
• Organizing the second annual standout at Five Corners to celebrate International Women’s Day, March 8, 2018.

Vineyard women and friends at the Boston Women’s March, January 21, 2017.

International Women’s Day, Five Corners, March 8, 2017

Rep. John Lewis received the Guardian of the Ballot award at an iVote fundraiser, summer 2017

Five of the six Vineyarders who attended the statewide Indivisible conference, November 12, 2017. From left: Lorraine Parish, Holly MacKenzie, Susanna Sturgis, Margaret Emerson, and Kathy Laskowski. Missing: Carla Cooper.