Fifteen days after the death of feminist leader and longtime Santa Monica resident Gloria Steinem, an organization she helped bring into existence will gather in Santa Monica to honor her legacy and continue the campaign she spent decades supporting.
Steinem died September 2 at age 92. On Thursday, September 17, Constitution Day, the ERA Coalition Forward will hold “UNFINISHED: Cocktails & Conversation for Gender Equality” at Range at Bergamot Station.
“Without Gloria Steinem, there would not have been an ERA Coalition,” said Zakiya Thomas, president and CEO of ERA Coalition Forward. “We planned this night for Constitution Day months ago, and now it is also a night in her honor. Gloria’s message to us was simple: never give up. This is our fight now, and we will not stop until the ERA is recognized as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.”
Steinem was a founding board member of the ERA Coalition. Jessica Neuwirth, now the organization’s president emerita, founded the coalition in 2014 after bringing the idea to Steinem. The two had worked together for decades, beginning when Neuwirth co-founded Equality Now in 1992, where Steinem served as chair emeritus.
The Equal Rights Amendment was approved by Congress in 1972 and ultimately ratified by 38 states, reaching the number of states specified in the amendment’s ratification clause. It has not, however, been formally recognized as part of the U.S. Constitution.
That unresolved status gives particular significance to an event held on Constitution Day, which commemorates the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia on September 17, 1787.
“Gloria was a dear friend and the wind beneath my wings,” said actress Christine Lahti, who portrayed Steinem in the Off-Broadway play Gloria: A Life. “Playing her in ‘Gloria: A Life’ Off-Broadway was one of the greatest honors of my life. She spent her life lighting torches for other women. One of the best ways to honor her is to get the Equal Rights Amendment recognized as the 28th Amendment.”
Lahti will open the evening with welcome remarks alongside Thomas.
Lisa Ann Walter, a board co-chair of ERA Coalition Forward, said Steinem’s death comes before the completion of a campaign that began long before either woman entered the movement.
“I marched for the Equal Rights Amendment when I was a kid in DC,” Walter said. “All these years later, we’re still fighting for constitutional equality. Gloria Steinem fought for it her whole life and never got to see it finished. It’s time to get it done.”
The evening will feature five interactive stations, a short film from Culture House Media and a performance by poet Yazmin Monet Watkins. Walter and actor-producer Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins will take part in a fireside conversation, while comedian Dulo will host a live auction featuring work donated by Los Angeles artists and businesses.
Among those expected to attend are ERA Coalition Forward board member Alyssa Milano, journalist and author Elaine Welteroth, author and historian Blair Imani Ali, and the team behind the Good Moms Bad Choices podcast.
A Recognition Wall dedicated to Steinem will stand at the center of the event. Ms. magazine is also joining as a partner and will present a tribute to Steinem during the program.
Event Details
What: UNFINISHED: Cocktails & Conversation for Gender Equality
When: Thursday, September 17, 2026. VIP reception at 6 p.m.; program from 7 to 9 p.m.
Where: Range at Bergamot Station, 2525 Michigan Avenue, Santa Monica
In honor of: Gloria Steinem
Tickets and sponsorships: Available through ERA Coalition Forward
Contributions from the event will benefit ERA Coalition Forward, a 501(c)(3) organization working to secure recognition of the Equal Rights Amendment as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
