“Erasing history and the story of people’s lives is an outrageous abdication of everything that humanity, and certainly our democracy, stands for and can also lead to terrible consequences to people’s health and safety,” LWVMO President Marilyn McLeod said in a guest column published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on March 28.

McLeod shared her alarm that the federal government is banning or limiting nearly 200 terms from government materials and websites, including the words female, feminism, pregnant person, women and underrepresented.

“Erasing history and the story of people’s lives is an outrageous abdication of everything that humanity, and certainly our democracy, stands for and can also lead to terrible consequences to people’s health and safety,” she stressed. “Women and minorities will not be erased.”

She reminded Americans of a fundamental civic truth: “The history of our nation and of our Constitution tells the story of an evolving and more inclusive democracy.”

She concluded by saying, “As Americans, we all must keep fighting for what is right and light the way for all to follow.”

Click here for a PDF of her column.