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The La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) celebrated the culmination of the Legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Project, known as the Legacy Project, on the last day of Women’s History month on March 31, 2022. Members, student speakers, their families, and other guests gathered in the Skyline of the Cerritos Library in Cerritos to recognize and honor the participants of the Legacy Project. They also came to hear from California State Assemblymember Cristina Garcia about legislation she has been working on that will affect women, girls, and other constituents of her district. Members and guests could also remain for the branch business meeting which included the nomination of officers to serve on the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW Branch Board in 2022-2023.
Norma Williamson, Coordinator and Chair of the Legacy Project, welcomed members and guests to the meeting. She then introduced the two Legacy Project guest speakers, high school students Alejandra Espinosa and Leah Triana and their families. She thanked her Co-Chair Gail Ross and Evangelina Romero, the liaison for ABC Unified School District, for their assistance throughout the project.
The Legacy Project was a joint project of the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW Branch and the ABC Unified School District (ABCUSD). It was planned as a virtual after-school program for 11th and 12th grade girls in ABCUSD. The Legacy Project was made possible by a grant received from AAUW CA by Norma Williamson as a member of the La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the AAUW.
In her Power Point Presentation, Williamson listed the different activities that the Legacy Project participants would experience from July 17, 2021, till the final presentation of projects by participants on March 31, 2022. She said that the girls who participated would study election issues, learn about the Women Suffrage Movement from 1848 to 1920, experience two voter pre-registration drives, and interview three former elected officials. By interviewing the former elected officials, she hoped that the girls might be inspired to consider careers in public office and become leaders in their communities and value their right to vote.
After learning how long it took for women to win the right to vote until the passage of the !9th Amendment of U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920, some of the Literacy Project members wrote publicity articles about the Legacy Project for their schools and local newspapers. Since they learned how important the right to vote is, they publicized and held two voter pre-registration drives for high school students at the Cerritos Library. They virtually interviewed three women who were former elected officials, including former Cerritos Mayor Diana Needham, former ABCUSD President and Board member Celia Spitzer, and Cerritos College Board member Dr. Tina Cho as part of the project.
Alejandra Espinosa and Leah Triana read their prepared speeches and expressed their gratitude for the opportunity they had to participate in the Legacy Project. A third student, Alessa Gomez, could not be present at this meeting because of her other school and volunteer activities, so she asked Mrs. Williamson to read her speech for her. In their speeches, all three girls showed how they gained in confidence and showed their leadership potential. She shared information about the girls being actively involved in their schools and in their communities.
Alessa is a junior at Cerritos High School and could not attend this meeting because of her AP classes and other activities at school. She is on the Model United Nations Debate Team, and recently attended a National High School United Nations Conference in New York. She is secretary for two other clubs at school, and volunteers time in a hospital.
Alejandra Espinosa is a senior at Artesia High School. She is serving as Senior Class Vice-President, and as President of Casa Youth Shelter Club. She is also a member of Youth Community Advocates, a non-profit organization dedicated to advocacy and community reform. She said that she learned a lot about the struggle for women to receive the right to vote and was concerned about homelessness of people. Her parents, Miguel and Celia Espinosa, and her sister, Delfilia, were present to hear her speech. She participated in nine of the Legacy Project meetings.
Leah Triana participated in all ten of the meetings for the Legacy Project. She a junior at Gahr High School and works part-time at Chick-Fil-A. She is active at Gahr High School as a member of the Link Crew, a student organization that welcomes and orients freshmen students to high school. She also is on the school’s basketball team and volunteers for Beach Cleanups and Breast Cancer Awareness. In her speech, Leah said that the strong women in American history inspired her, such as Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama. She said that she was even more inspired by her own mother, Wendy, who joined the Navy because of 9/11 and is a veteran. Her mother was present and heard Leah’s compliments.
After the two students finished their speeches, certificates from the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW Branch and gifts were presented to the participants in Legacy Projects. Alejandra, and Leah received bracelets from Christine Taxier, with the words inscribed, “Failure is Impossible,” as part of a quote from Susan B. Anthony, “Whenever women get together, failure is impossible.”
Alejandra and Leah each received a book from Diana Needham, Celia Spitzer, and Dr. Tina Cho. entitled: Girls Resist! A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution. It is an activism handbook for teen girls ready to fight for change, social justice, and equality.
Mrs. Williamson presented personal gifts to thank ABCUSD liaison Evangelina Romero, former elected officials Celia Spitzer, Diana Needham, and her Co-Chair, Gail Ross.
At the conclusion of the Legacy Project presentation, Assemblymember Cristina Garcia joined the celebration and presented Certificates of Recognition from the California 58th Assembly District to Alejandra Espinosa and Leah Triana for their active participation in the Legacy Project.
