Former Texas state senator Wendy Davis made the case for embracing feminism and engaging in civic action during the 2017 School of Social Work’s Otis Lecture this past spring semester.
Davis recalled that the first time she attended a city council meeting as an advocate she was struck by the scant number of women in the room: “Advocating serves as more than just a means to the end of passing or blocking a piece of legislation. Advocating is about learning where the room is, how to speak up, how to stand up in it; it’s about understanding that it belongs to you and that the people there work for you and are answerable to you and your vote. And yes, hopefully it’s about seeing yourself there, speaking on that dais.”