HOUSTON BATTLEGROUND
The most recent “Mrs. America” episode is set in the Bayou City, where the 1977 National Women’s Conference put the ERA front and center.
The eighth and penultimate episode of “Mrs. America” starts on a deserted road at dawn, to the tune of Yes’ “Amazing Grace.” A young woman laces up her running shoes, lights a torch and jogs out of Seneca County in New York, flame in hand. That same torch would end up in Houston two months later. The year is
1977.
Tens of thousands of women gathered in Houston on Nov. 18-21, 1977, for the National Women’s Conference. It was the biggest event of its kind since the Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls in 1848. To kick off the 1977 conference, more than 3,000 relay runners carried the torch through 14 states on the symbolic journey.
The FX on Hulu series recounts the decadelong battle for the Equal Rights Amendment in the ’70s, featuring women’s liberation protagonists such as Gloria Steinem (Rose Byrne) and Betty Friedan (Tracey Ullman), and their opposition, led by Phyllis Schlafly (Cate Blanchett), which ultimately stopped the ERA’s passage.
The conference was a turning point. With the help of $5 million in federal funds, it aimed to deliver a list of recommendations to the president (then Jimmy Carter) and Congress regarding a variety of gender-equality issues, such as child care, health, abortion, lesbian rights, minority women and, of course, the ERA, which would have enshrined women’s equality in the Constitution. The document that resulted from the event was called “the Spirit of Houston.” Texas congresswoman and Houston native Barbara Jordan gave the keynote speech. First ladies Rosalynn Carter, Betty Ford and Lady Bird Johnson also took the stage.
The conference-themed “Mrs. America” episode, titled “Houston,” aired on Wednesday and is available to stream anytime on Hulu. The host city is not all that present. Though some archival footage of the real event is used, the characters are mostly shown inside; the sound of a Texas drawl from hotel staff is a lone and subtle nod. (The show was shot in Toronto.) But the conference was a huge deal for Houston.
The organizing committee considered many venues before settling on the Sam Houston Coliseum (since demolished). The city had attracted national attention in 1976 when Mayor Fred Hofheinz appointed Nikki Van Hightower as women’s advocate for Houston, one of the first positions of its kind in the U.S. This reportedly influenced the decision.
Cultural institutions in Houston welcomed visitors with special shows about women. The Alley Theatre performed the play “Mary Stuart” and highlighted female artists in a multimedia exhibit; the Planetarium at the Museum of Natural Science celebrated women in astronomy with “Sign of Virgo”; the Rice Design Alliance told the story of women in architecture through a photography exhibit.
Not everyone welcomed the conference with open arms, particularly not anti-ERA, pro-life politicians. Jerry Smith, the Harris County GOP chairman at the time, called the attendees “a gaggle of outcasts, misfits and rejects.”
All 50 states and six territories voted to send more than 2,000 delegates to the conference; about 80 percent of them were women’s liberation followers and supporters of the ERA. The Texas convention, which was held in June 1977 in Austin, elected 58 delegates to represent the state. In addition to the delegates, between 15,000 and 20,000 observers flocked to the Coliseum.
“Mrs. America” turns the spotlight on the remaining 20 percent. Schlafly and her STOP ERA countermovement is initially portrayed in the series as a longshot, underdog effort. The feminists are not taking it seriously — “It’s not like I’m ever gonna say that (expletive) woman’s name again,” said Friedan dismissively in the first episode after mispronouncing Schlafly’s name.
The ERA seems to be barreling toward fruition, picking up state ratification after state ratification (Texas was the eighth state to do so on March 30, 1972). As time and episodes go by, reality catches up, reminding viewers of the ERA’s fate.
Schlafly appears only at the very end of the “Houston” episode. Until then, we follow a few of her supporters (all fictional characters) as they talk to the press, prepare signs and flyers, and make poorly received speeches on the conference floor. A good chunk of the plot is taken up by STOP ERA member Alice Macray’s (Sarah Paulson) accidental drug trip, during which we witness her budding change of heart after hazy encounters with Steinem, Florynce Kennedy (Niecy Nash) and others.
Though the faction’s delegates were largely in the minority at the conference itself, Schlafly managed to turn out 11,000 people to the Astro Arena (now NRG Arena) for a counterrally. The episode’s last scene shows them streaming out of buses, when finally the lady of the hour appears. In that moment, Blanchett’s brilliantly broad, triumphant smile feels like a premonition of what Schlafly is about to achieve — or has she already?
The series finale of “Mrs. America” airs May 27.
Jerry Smith, the Harris County GOP chairman at the time, called the attendees “a gaggle of outcasts, misfits and rejects.”