League of Women Voters Hosts Panel for Women’s History Month

Sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Teaneck and Teaneck Public Schools, this panel featured a select group of women leaders discussing their work in politics and the legislation that must be passed to promote equity and social justice. 

The panel’s speakers include former New Jersey Senator Loretta Weinberg, State Assemblywoman Shavonda Sumter, Legislative Aide Yusra Subhani, and Teaneck High School’s Sophmore Class President Liora Pelavin. At this event, all four speakers shared their humble beginnings in politics and social justice, as well as the passion that drove them to pursue these careers. 

Weinberg, who moved to Teaneck in 1964, reminisced about how her life in politics began with working at the Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic Headquarters and advocating for more trees on Cedar Lane. This passion for social justice was instilled in her just as the Civil Rights movement and protests against the Vietnam War rocked her community.

Sumter’s career began with working in student government from seventh grade through high school. Inspired by the lawmakers shown working live on late-night C-SPAN broadcasts, she chose to major in political science and rose up the ranks in the state government, becoming the first woman chair of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus.

Though Subhani was humble about her lack of political experience, she burned with the same passion as her colleagues, having started out advocating for books with more diversity in her high school library. Pelavin, now the leader of a Jewish climate organization, very much inherited this passion for activism from her family, having been “taught at the dinner table” to ask questions and fight back all her life.

During the panel, the speakers acknowledged the improvements in the state’s support for women and the fact that more women are active in the state legislature today. Nevertheless, they also talked about the gender disparities and the lack of support women continue to face in the world of politics. 

Specifically, Sumter addressed the unequal amount of male and female voters in New Jersey. Meanwhile, Weinberg discussed the “stark cultural differences” in the legislative workplace, as women lawmakers juggle work and raise their children while men go out to bars or steakhouses to “establish relationships” and “make deals.” Pelavin even added that male politicians’ wives often give up their jobs to move to Washington, D.C., after their husbands get elected, but that isn’t usually the case for female politicians and their husbands.

The speakers also recounted the challenges they’ve faced in politics, having received different kinds of backlash for their political pursuits. As younger activists, Subhani and Pelavin have been especially criticized by students and adults for their lack of experience. Still, they have learned to move forward from such negative feedback and pursue their causes regardless of their fear. “Even if you’re scared and you don’t do anything, that’s worse. Silence is worse. So I say always go for it. Always do with good intentions what you want to do,” said Subhani.

This philosophy drives these women even as they face what Sumter described as “double-down work.” While the fight for social change is long and arduous, Sumter continues to listen to the plights of her constituents and seek to rectify these tragedies caused by the presence or absence of a law.

“I nod my head [to them] because somebody wanted to take on those challenging topics that really get to the core of the heart as leaders,” said Sumter. “You can’t say you’re a good leader. You can’t say you’re going to going to work on social justice, equity, reproductive freedom and access, and not have a heart.”

Weinberg also encouraged the audience not to feel daunted by this slow process and to celebrate the small steps taken toward progress. “I really tried to internalize that, to actually say that to myself,” she said. “Because what you’re saying happens to all of us, and I’d be willing to wager that even some of our young panelists here have to figure that out too, and when you look at the world ahead of you that you want to try to improve, you’re not going to be able to do it with one giant step.”

Despite the social and political challenges that women like them have faced in recent years, the four speakers remain optimistic about the future as they leave it in the hands of the next generation. Having passed over 200 pieces of legislation into law in the last four years, including prison reform and mental health care access, Sumter shows confidence in the foundation laid for future lawmakers.

However, Sumter urged the audience to support the next generation running for office and tackling important issues, and for the latter to do so without fear of backlash from the public. As Weinberg so wisely said, “If you don’t [get backlash], you haven’t done anything worthwhile.”