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Miss. Chapter of NOW Insists that Gov. Bryant Apologize to Working Mothers

Verbatim statement, just in:

National Organization for Woman, Mississippi Insists Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant apologize for statements against working mothers

The Mississippi Chapter of the National Organization for Women condemns the comments Governor Phil Bryant made regarding working women and working families being the cause of education problems in Mississippi.

His statement places all responsibility on mothers and none on the state. It disregards the impact of racism and integration in the decline of Mississippi's historically underfunded schools. It conveniently takes away any responsibility from the Governor and his failure to focus on jobs, healthcare, states economy, and equal/adequate funding for schools.

Rather, the Governor and GOP-controlled House and Senate have been focused on abortion restrictions, guns, school prayer, and immigration.

The Governor is missing the economic reality of the lives of many Mississippians--where both parents have to work, they do not choose to work. Even if women are not economically forced to work, we have the right to make a career without being made scapegoats by state officials who are not doing all they can to create great schools.

If Governor Bryant is sincerely concerned about having a Mississippi where one parent can stay home-if they choose-then we urge him to focus on statewide policies that make that possible. We encourage him to support policies like state-funded childcare so families can afford to have one person work. We encourage him to support raising the minimum wage, so one job/one parent can support a family. Lastly we encourage him to support medicaid expansion because healthy kids are able to learn better and kids need healthy parents.

Policies like these matter just as much if not more than if a child's mother has a job. Governor Bryant you can not blame Mississippi mothers for the state not doing its job.

In response to:

Phil Bryant blames education problems on "moms ... in the workplace"

Yes, he did. The Washington Post is reporting that our esteemed governor, Phil Bryant, blamed working mothers for the problems in the education system: Bryant was participating in a Washington Post Live event focused on the importance of ensuring that children read well by the end of third grade. In ...

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donnaladd 10 years, 9 months ago

Here's another statement by Rickey Cole of the Democratic Party. Verbatim:

BRYANT INSULTS THE WORKING MOTHERS OF MISSISSIPPI AND EMBARRASSES MISSISSIPPI AGAIN

JACKSON-Yet again the goofiest governor in America has embarrassed Mississippians before a national audience, and this time he has insulted generations of working Mississippi mothers as well.

Speaking earlier today, Phil Bryant told a national audience that the reason for American educational mediocrity is "I think both parents started working. The mom got in the workplace."

Just exactly how out of touch with reality does a candidate have to be in order to become the Republican governor of Mississippi? Throughout the two hundred year history of our state, most mothers have been forced by necessity to work as breadwinners for their families. Whether that work took place in the fields, in the logwoods, as domestic workers, as teachers, as nurses, as factory workers, in food service, in retail or in many other fields of arduous work, the mothers of Mississippi have been bringing home the bacon since Mississippi began. The 1950’s “Father Knows Best” picket fence middle-class family myth has never been an option for most Mississippians. A lot more Mississippi mothers have had callouses of hard work than have ever had manicures. The “happy housewife” has always been the exception in hard-times Mississippi, and if Mr. Bryant had been paying attention to most of the lives of most of the people of this state, he would know that.

On behalf of Mississippi Democrats, I salute and express profound appreciation to the generations of working mothers who have done so much to build the economy, society and culture of our state. It has been the working mothers who have seen to the education of their children and the children of many others, as well. It is the working mothers of today who are providing the labor and leadership essential to making Mississippi a better place, when even now working women are making only seventy-seven cents on the dollar when compared to men. The working mothers of our state deserve a state leadership that will fight for equal pay for equal work, instead of allowing this insulting income gap to continue while blaming hard-working mothers for the failures of our educational system.

Phil Bryant owes the working mothers of our state an apology. A good first step in that apology would be for him to support a Lilly Ledbetter Act for Mississippi.

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donnaladd 10 years, 9 months ago

And another from District 12 Mississippi State Sen. Derrick T. Simmons

As a state Senator, a native Mississippian and the product of educational institutions where women instructors, administrators and mentors helped to develop me and many others, I feel it is critical to voice support for women and their roles in making many of us who we are.

In light of negative national media attention being given on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to the statement of a fellow elected Mississippi office holder, I can assure everyone that I love my mother, as do the majority of sons and daughters of working women throughout the state love theirs.

I in great part have been successful because my mom, Alzena, has worked for over 30-years for Kroger Foods, where she helped to provide for our family while we learned to the best of our ability in school classrooms most often supervised and led by dedicated and capable women.

I love my wife, CuWanda, and I thank every woman who has ever worked a job and whose tenacity and talents have forced open doors of equality and respect.

It is because of the working women of the world that many of us excelled and continue to grow mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

I consider men and women to be equal in the world, the workplace, and in the sight of God.

Sincerely, DERRICK T. SIMMONS Mississippi State Senator District 12

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