Landmarks
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Issues in Action
Elliott Smith
Cicely Lewis, Executive Editor
Lerner Publications Minneapolis
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LETTER FROM CICELY LEWIS
LETTER FROM CICELY LEWIS
Dear Reader,
I started the Read Woke challenge in response to the needs of my
students. I wanted my students to read books that challenged social
norms, gave voice to the silenced, and sought to challenge the status
quo. Have you ever felt as if the truth was being hidden from you? Have
you ever felt like adults are not telling
you the full story because you are too
young? Well, I believe you have a right to
know about the issues that are plaguing
our society. I believe that you have a
right to hear the truth.
I created Read Woke Books because
I want you to be knowledgeable and
compassionate citizens. You will be the
leaders of our society soon, and you
need to be equipped with knowledge so
that you can treat others with the dignity
and respect they deserve. And so you
can be treated with that same respect.
Cicely Lewis
As you turn these pages, learn about how history has impacted the
things we do today. Hopefully you can be the change that helps to make
our world a better place for all.
Cicely Lewis, Executive Editor
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Table of Contents
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EQUAL
PLAYING FIELD
EQUAL
PLAYING FIELD
Megan Rapinoe is cocaptain of the
womens national soccer team.
THE US WOMENS NATIONAL SOCCER TEAM WAS
NEARLY UNSTOPPABLE. They dominated the sport for
many years. But as they prepared for the 2019 World Cup, a
bigger issue was at hand: equality.
Despite their overwhelming success, the players on the
womens team were paid less than those on the US mens
team. To the womens team players, that seemed unfair. The
womens team is much more successful than the mens team.
The men have never finished higher than third place at the
World Cup, and that was back in 1930. The women had won
three World Cup titles.
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In March 2019, a few months before the World Cup, the
team took a stand. All twenty-eight members filed a lawsuit
against the United States Soccer Federation for gender
discrimination. The lawsuit said that women earned $15,000
for making the national team, but men earned $68,750 for
the same achievement. Similar inequalities are present
outside the US too. For example, the mens World Cup paid
$400 million in prize money, while the womens World Cup
paid out only $30 million.
Rapinoe led the charge in the
fight for equal pay for her team.
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Even as the lawsuit continued, the US womens soccer
team excelled. They captured the 2019 World Cup to become
four-time champions. Shouts
of Equal pay! rose from the
stands at the final in France
and from crowds at the
teams celebration parade in
New York City.
Soccer isnt the only sport
where salaries are unequal.
Womens basketball, hockey,
and tennis players have also fought for better pay. But because
the US womens soccer team has performed so much better
than the mens, their lawsuit brings attention to how women
are paid unfairly in sports.
We wont accept
anything less
than equal pay.
Megan Rapinoe,
US soccer player
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