September 14, 2026

Dear friends,

I am writing with urgency and resolve to share that I will be making my fourth pilgrimage, Hall to Hall: Liberty’s Flame for Equality, from Independence Hall in Philadelphia—the very place where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed—to the hallowed halls of Congress and the White House. I leave on September 17, walking from sunrise to sunset, church to church, as I make the pilgrims journey to demand that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee finally move forward and pass S.J. Res. 38, the bipartisan resolution that will remove the arbitrary deadline and affirm the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the Constitution. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Thirty-eight states have already ratified it. The constitutional threshold has been met. The only remaining barrier is Congress’s failure to act. There is no deadline on equality, and this pilgrim insists that the final step be taken without further delay.

This journey continues the long “Walk the Talk” tradition of Katrina’s Dream. The first pilgrimage, “A Sentimental Journey,” began in Seneca Falls in 2012. The second, “A Quest for Equality,” started at the Golden Gate Bridge in 2014 and covered roughly 7,000 miles; it sparked the 21st-century ratifications in Nevada, Illinois, and Virginia that brought the ERA to the required 38 states. The third pilgrimage in 2020 continued the call for Congress to remove the arbitrary 1972 deadline (later extended to 1982). These were acts of faith and persistence that rekindled a movement others had abandoned. Now Hall to Hall: Liberty’s Flame for Equality begins at the birthplace of American liberty, walking from sunrise church to sunset church, to finish the unfinished work. Forward friends forward!

S.J. Res. 38, introduced by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mazie Hirono with bipartisan cosponsors, simply establishes that, notwithstanding any prior time limit, the Equal Rights Amendment—already ratified by three-fourths of the states—to be valid as part of the Constitution. It was read twice and referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 25, 2025. It still awaits action. Women continue to face wage gaps, violence, healthcare disparities, and uneven legal protections. The Constitution still lacks an explicit guarantee of sex equality. This pilgrimage calls on the Judiciary Committee to advance the resolution without further delay so the ERA can take its rightful place. Feel free to go to our Power of One program and call upon your network to call Congress. 

While in Washington I will also drop by the Zambia Embassy to appeal for mercy and will seek meetings with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Bishop Trevor Musonda Mwamba (Trevor Mwamba)—retired Anglican Bishop of Botswana, President of Zambia’s historic United National Independence Party (UNIP), and a longtime friend and board member of Katrina’s Dream—was among those arrested in the aftermath of Zambia’s August 2026 general election. He faces high-treason charges and being held at Mukobeko Maximum Prison. Bishop Mwamba has stood with ERA advocates for years: he prayed with us during Nevada’s historic 2017 ratification, offered opening prayers at our parallel events at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, and has consistently bridged faith and public service in the cause of justice and equality. We ask simply for the proper administration of justice, for his safety, access to counsel and family, and for mercy.

I will also raise the matter of Senator Bernie Sanders’ American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which aligns with President Trump’ s February 3 2025 Executive Order to establish a US sovereign wealth fund (SWF).The legislation would give the American people a direct ownership stake in the largest AI companies through a one-time stock-based mechanism, creating a public fund estimated in the trillions and managed in the public interest. Because artificial intelligence rests on humanity’s collective knowledge and labor, the wealth it generates should benefit the many rather than a handful. This is another arena in which questions of justice, accountability, and the common good demand attention.

I walk again from the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution because those founding documents still call us to expand liberty and equality. The work is unfinished. I go to urge the Judiciary Committee to advance S.J. Res. 38 without further delay, and to appeal for mercy and due process on behalf of Bishop Trevor Mwamba, while once again lifting up the broader conversation about AI and the public good.

Please continue signing and sharing the ERA petition urging Senator Murkowski to champion S.J. Res. 38 and circulate a Dear Colleague letter to build Senate momentum:

https://www.change.org/p/urge-senator-murkowski-to-champion-the-era

Your signature and your sharing help keep the pressure on and show that public support for constitutional equality remains strong.

If you are able, please also support the ongoing work of Katrina’s Dream with a donation. As we mark our 21st year of steadfast advocacy for equality and justice, every gift—$21 for 21 years or any amount—fuels the petition drives, the outreach, the pilgrimages, and the steady work that has carried this ministry from its founding to this critical moment. You can give here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-katrinas-dream-championing-equality-and-justice

Your prayers for safe travel, for open doors on Capitol Hill, for the Bishop and his family, and for the timely passage of the Equal Rights Amendment are deeply appreciated.

Love and Light in Christ,

Helene de Boissiere-Swanson