“There Were No Founding Mothers”: Reimagining Constitutional Equality

Efforts to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment have resurged, and for the first time in nearly forty years, three new states have ratified the ERA. But there are several reasons to reconsider these efforts. Most importantly, the ERA’s substance is insufficient to address ongoing inequities. This Article argues that advocates should instead focus efforts on writing a new amendment constitutionalizing equality aimed at rectifying the constitutional Founding Era’s treatment of people of color, women, and other subordinated groups.