- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
"Every modern constitution in the world
"has explicit gender equality protections in the text,
except for the United States."
That is a quote from tonight's documentary Ratified,
a film that explores the legal, political,
and personal fight for gender equality
in the United States Constitution.
Up until 1924,
women were still considered the property of their husbands.
Tonight's film explores how, despite progress
after the introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment
or ERA just over 100 years ago,
women are often still considered second-class citizens
when it comes to health care, pay, and legal protection.
Part of the reason could be
because the ERA still hasn't been ratified.
In order for the amendment to be added to the Constitution,
it needs to be ratified by 3/4 of the states,
a total of at least 38.
The mission was thought to be accomplished in 2020
when Virginia became the 38th state to ratify,
satisfying Article V of the Constitution,
and yet it still has not been certified
due to legal and political opposition.
Some politicians who argue against the amendment
have even said it's to protect women.
Ratified is directed by Saabah Folayan
and Deborah Riley Draper.
For Folayan, this is her third feature-length documentary.
Her film Whose Streets told the story of activists in Missouri
following the death of Michael Brown.
The film made it to the Sundance Film Festival
and was nominated for a Peabody Award
and a Critics' Choice Award.
Deborah Riley Draper also has a project
about the Michael Brown death on her résumé.
She directed and executive produced the TV special
13 Days in Ferguson,
partnering with comedian actor Cedric the Entertainer,
who co-produced.
Draper is also the creative force
behind a four-part documentary about funk legend James Brown
called James Brown: Say It Loud.
The directors use archival footage as well as interviews
to enhance the film's vérité scenes
which involve intense political battles,
exemplifying how the female body is used as a pawn for politics.
Draper and Folayan explore
how bureaucratic red tape can impede progress
regardless of how popular legislation is,
even after it's gone through the proper channels to be certified.
But in Ratified, the bureaucracy is what fuels the activism
and passion of this multiracial, multicultural,
and multigenerational team of women,
specifically of Black women who have found their voice
in the last 30 years
and added significant numbers to the movement.
In fact, many say it's Black voices
that have been the catalyst
in refueling the fight to certify the ERA.
So sit back and become a comfort activist
and get yourself caught up on a cause
you might've thought had been won,
but appears the fight is far from over.
Ratified starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.