A group of Democratic women in the House are urging women lawmakers from both parties to wear white in support of women’s rights for President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, now set for Feb. 5.
The House Democratic Women’s Working Group made the request to evoke the women’s suffrage movement and to repeat its message, CNN reported Tuesday.
“Wearing suffragette white is a respectful message of solidarity with women across the country, and a declaration that we will not go back on our hard-earned rights,” Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) told CNN.
Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) donned an all-white pantsuit this month when she was sworn into Congress. She noted on Twitter that she selected her attire “to honor the women who paved the path before me, and for all the women yet to come.”
Hillary Clinton dressed in white for her acceptance of the Democratic nomination for president in 2016.
So did Geraldine Ferraro, when she became the first female to accept the vice presidential nomination during the 1984 Democratic convention, following the lead of Shirley Chisholm, who in 1969 wore white for her swearing-in ceremony as the first black woman in Congress.
Last year, State of the Union attendees were encouraged to wear black in solidarity with the Times Up and Me Too movements against sexual assault and harassment in industries big and small, including government, media and entertainment.