Ravisloe Country Club in Homewood was filled with locally elected officials and supporters of Cook County 6th District Commissioner Donna Miller on July 14. They gathered for Miller’s 6th annual “Hats off to South Suburban Women” political fundraiser.
The lunch kicked off with a performance by a local music artist, Zion Ali. Ali performed a variety of songs including his own original music he creates to spread messages of positivity among people of all ages, but especially youth.
The day was highlighted with a speech by keynote speaker, Christian Nunes, the national president of the National Women’s Organization.
Nunes was elected the NOW president in 2020 and is the second woman of color and youngest person of color to hold the office.
Her speech focused on the power that women hold within democracy, and she challenged the audience to use that power at the polls during the 2024 presidential election in November.
“The biggest power we have is the collective power of people, the collective power of the vote,” Nunes said. “We have to remember what we’re standing for, what we’re fighting for.”
The speech came one day after an assasination attempt on former president Donald Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Nunes referenced the incident in her speech saying events like it are used to create fear in people around the country.
“This is how the opposition wins, they try to win with fear. They try to get us to sit aside and say ‘let’s give up, let’s stop, they’ve already won the race.’ No, we don’t know the race is won until it’s won,” Nunes said.
Miller knew it was important to invite Nunes to speak because of the high stakes in politics from the local level up to the national level.
“Everything about our democracy is on the ballot right now and I thought that she would be an empowering speaker to talk about women’s rights, women’s reproductive rights, healthcare, pay disparities, equality and to get us all focused with some marching orders on what direction we should go in for this upcoming election,” Miller said.
Nunes urged the audience to stay knowledgeable about current events and participate in the electoral process as much as they could to see change occur in the country.
“We continually have to mobilize our people,” Nunes said. “I want you to walk away [from this election] and be able to say, ‘I did everything in my capacity to save my democracy, protect my family, protecting children and protect future generations because right now our legacy is at risk.”
Following the speech, Nunes answered questions from attendees. Most of the questions from the audience were asking ways that people could help mobilize and spread information about the presidential election.
Nunes encouraged listeners to support local government officials like Miller who are fighting on their behalf. Miller appreciated Nunes galvanizing the audience to take action in the coming months.
“I hope [attendees] took away to get organized, not give up, be action-oriented and that each one of us can play a role in doing something at the polls,” Miller said.