“We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams. We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are the changemakers.”
Description
Readers get a front-row seat to witness history, both before and after the enactment of the New Mexico Equal Rights Amendment, as told by the former executive director of the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women.
Part memoir, part history, The Changemakers is the story of the extraordinary changes that took place in New Mexico prior to and after the enactment of the state Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 as documented by a woman at the center of it all. Tasia Young served as the executive director for the New Mexico Commission on the Status of Women from 1975 to 1985. New Mexico was well ahead of the nation in making strides to grant women rights equal to those of men. Young witnessed firsthand the growing pains New Mexico went through after the passage of the bill, which required changes in law as well as in individual attitudes.
Full of personal anecdotes and experiences, the book is grounded in primary and secondary sources. The book reads as a fascinating who’s who of state and national politicians—many of whom were just getting their start when this important bill came up for passage. Anyone interested in equal rights, politics, and the history of New Mexico will love this fascinating account as told by a woman who not only witnessed it all but served as an important changemaker herself.
Reviews
“This book captures the best stories of the individuals and challenges the Commission on the Status of Women faced in its early years. As a young woman, I was asked to chair the commission. Tasia Young, as director, skillfully guided me through the landmines of legislation and kept us focused on helping women in their toughest times. The stories in this book remind us of how much and sometimes how little progress we have made for women.”
“There are few things more empowering in this age of political turmoil, than to read a history of New Mexico and learn that early leaders fought hard for suffrage and equal rights. Tasia’s telling of their stories in the larger pursuit of fair representation for women in politics is inspiring. The echoes of their commitment and struggle reverberate today as New Mexico boasts of being a state with women well-represented in key positions of local, state and congressional offices.”
“In this world we are blessed with Changemakers who commit their lives, guided by their core values, with love, respect, compassion, courage, innovation, and activism. Tasia has provided us with her own lifetime of public service, sharing with us those who contributed to transforming our world and who epitomize and exemplify the saying that a purposeful life is a life in the service of others. This book is a celebration of those Changermakers who are contributing to improving the quality of life and leaving this world a better place than they found it.”
