Allyson McKinney Timm, a global justice advocate and founder of Justice Revival, leads an interfaith campaign to support women’s rights, gender equality and the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution, despite the culture war drama, religious resistance and financial challenges she faces.
“We need to do everything possible to ensure women’s rights are protected, and the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution is an essential and necessary starting point. No one’s saying that it is going to finish the job, but it’s what we need just to get out of the gate and to get serious about tackling these problems.” – Allyson McKinney Timm
Allyson McKinney Timm is a human rights lawyer, scholar, and faith leader with two decades of experience defending the dignity and rights of those on the margins in the US and globally. She is the executive director and founder of Justice Revival, an organization that works to inspire, educate, and mobilize Christian action to support the human rights of all people.
Allyson is a passionate advocate for human rights, founding Justice Revival to inspire, educate, and mobilize Christian action to support the human rights of all people. When she reflects on the issues facing women globally and in the US, safety, provision, and dignity all come to the forefront. To address the systemic inequality that women have faced in the US, she has been pushing for the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution. Despite resistance from some who are afraid of inclusion and equality, she has continued to fight for the ERA and other measures to protect women’s human rights. As Allyson works to bring about a cultural shift towards recognizing the human rights of all people, she is reminded of the human costs of discrimination and hopes to see the US take the lead in upholding and protecting.
In this episode, you will learn the following:
1. How the US Constitution is Lagging Behind in Protecting Women’s Rights
2. The Challenges of Promoting Human Rights Awareness in the US
3. Examining Human Rights Through a Legal and Theological Lens.
Resources:
Other episodes you’ll enjoy:
Mimi Haddad on CBE: https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/s4e79
Kate Wallace Nunneley of the Junia Project: https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/s2e23
Dorothy Greco on Egalitarian Marriage:
https://www.aworldofdifferencepodcast.com/s7e107
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Chapter Summaries:
[00:00:02]
Lori Adams Brown: Happy International Women’s Day to every woman around the world. Today we have a very special guest, allyson McKinney Timm, the executive director and founder of Justice Revival. allyson is a human rights lawyer, a scholar, and a faith leader with two decades of experience.
[00:03:59]
Justice Revival is a diverse and inclusive Christian ministry with a mission of inspiring, educating, and mobilizing Christian action to support the human rights of all people. A lot of Justice Revival’s work over the last six years has been creating innovative Christian education on human rights. It’s such a rare space to see justice come together in the US.
[00:06:05]
This week marks International Women’s Day. What do you believe are the most pressing issues facing women globally and in the US? Safety, provision and dignity are common themes. Although we often want to point fingers elsewhere, we certainly have much, much work to do here.
[00:09:19]
Faith for Era submitted tesTimmony at Senate hearing on Equal Rights Amendment. The measure would enshrine equality for women in the US constitution. Some opponents have argued it’s unnecessary or could have unintended consequences.
[00:15:42]
Part of what the Era would do is raise the bar on sex discrimination. But there can still be other important considerations that are part of the analysis. It is so important to understand what it will and won’t do and not fall prey to some of the narratives.
[00:19:49]
Christianity too often gets invoked to oppose human rights rather than uphold it. That fear of a more diverse, inclusive, egalitarian society has driven opposition to the era for the last 50 years. I’d love for you to help people understand how they can get involved in advocating for the Era.
[00:23:06]
The US is one of only seven countries worldwide that has so far failed to fully ratify and join the Women’s Treaty. Most of the countries where your listeners are will already be part of CDA. And that’s another key mechanism that’s used to promote reform.
[00:25:33]
There is an American tendency or desire to think of ourselves as a world leader on human rights. I would like to see Americans thinking about how to do human rights here at home. Revival is deeper commitment to human rights and especially within the Christian community.
[00:29:35]
Justice Revival is working towards social justice. How specifically could individuals and communities support this work? Challenges include raising awareness about the work we do in the media. Third challenge is raising the support, the financial support, year after year.
[00:32:11]
I love how your perspective on theology and law has come together to help all of justice revival be born. What advice would you give to people who are interested in promoting gender equality and social justice?
[00:37:31]
Ali: On International Women’s Day, I want to mention my mom, Suan, because she is the inspiration and really probably the reason I ended up doing this. How can people find you and more of your work? Where do you want to point them to?
[00:40:15]
Ali Vitali: International Women’s Day is a chance to learn from women around the world. She says she has been blessed to work with Justice Revival board member Allie O’Brien. She’ll be in Abu Dhabi for the event, and she’ll be posting updates on social media.
[00:42:01]
I just want to encourage all of us to find just one thing. Maybe it’s reading a book or listening to the story of a woman who’s experienced something that she mentioned. Contacting your person in Congress that represents you to let them know your thoughts. There’s so many ways to get involved.
[00:44:08]
The word courage comes from the root word related to heart. When you experience the feelings of others and that gives you that courage, maybe that’s where you need to start. I believe that courage is contagious. Your next step is today.
[00:44:57]
Ali talks with us about her mom and how her mom inspired her. You can go to our Patreon community as little as $5 a month. If you want to join in the conversation about what your next step is for International Women’s Day, for Women’s History Month, for working for human rights, would love to hear about it.
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