President Obama made it very clear: He wanted the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to be the first bill he signed into law as president. He encouraged the House and Senate to act quickly to pass this bill, which overturned the Supreme Court’s decision that limited the ability of victims of wage discrimination to seek redress. NCJW activists around the country began working hard to win passage of this bill almost immediately after the Court’s 2007 Ledbetter v. Goodyear decision was handed down. Although the House passed the bill in the last Congress, the Senate wasn’t able to muster sufficient votes. So it was indeed a sweet reward for NCJW to be invited to the White House on January 29, 2009, to witness the signing of the Ledbetter bill. NCJW President Nancy Ratzan and I were proud to represent the thousands of NCJW advocates who successfully — and repeatedly — spoke out for this legislation.

On a cold, clear day, we entered the White House along with about a hundred other advocates, women’s and civil rights leaders, members of Congress, and Lilly Ledbetter and her family. After filing past the portraits of former presidents and first ladies and up the grand staircase, we took our seats in the East Room.

The excitement in the room was manifest in the enthusiastic conversations, the photos being snapped — even by members of Congress! — and the line of press photographers and reporters in the back. Finally, the lead members of Congress arrayed themselves behind the signing desk and then the president, first lady, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (the original lead sponsor of the bill), and Lilly Ledbetter entered the room.

Standing before us, President Obama talked about the significance of the occasion and his admiration for not just Lilly Ledbetter but for all of us who brought this bill through the long process to his desk. And then, using several pens he signed the bill into law to sustained applause. After the signing, we all headed down the long corridor to a reception at the State Dining Room, where Mrs. Obama and Lilly Ledbetter spoke. Both Nancy and I had the thrill of thanking the president and his wife personally, and we were thanked in return not just by the president and Lilly Ledbetter but by our colleagues who spoke of the important work done by NCJW women coast to coast to bring us to this day. Thanks to the commitment of advocates like the members of NCJW, today marked an important chapter in the history of civil rights and economic justice!