On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution and the right to vote in the U.S. could no longer be denied on the basis of sex. The fight for women’s suffrage was complex and interwoven with issues of civil and political inequalities for some Americans.
Women’s Rights National Historical Park (NHP) has announced Equality Weekend-Seneca Falls, a series of online programs being held August 22-23 to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification.
The weekend event will commence on August 22nd at 11 am with a Greeting from David Vela, Deputy Director Exercising the Authority of Director for the National Park Service, followed by the unveiling of the “19th Amendment: Women Vote” stamp by the United States Postal Service, and a welcome from teh Park’s Acting Superintendent Andrea DeKoter.
A panel of artists behind Votes For Women: The Battle for the 19th Amendment, a comic anthology by Little Red Bird Press, will explore the history of the 19th Amendment through their work, as well as challenges that women still face in the male-dominated comic industry. Martha Jones, Ph.D., Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University, and author of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All (2020) and Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights in Antebellum America (2018), will explore the outcomes of the amendment and the inequalities in voting access that continued to exist after ratification.
Beginning at 3 pm on Saturday, August 22nd, a PBS production and live panel will explore the history of women’s suffrage and the fight for the 19th Amendment with the living descendants of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, and Maggie Lena Walker.
The Virtual Screening and Panel Discussion of “Legacies of Suffrage in the National Parks Service” will feature keynote speakers including Coline Jenkins, Kenneth B. Morris, Jr., and Liza Mickens, the living descendants of these four significant civil rights activists.
Following the program, a live panel discussion on Zoom with speakers will discuss the legacy of their ancestors and the importance of women’s suffrage today.
A schedule of events, including full details of the weekend’s programs, is available on the park Facebook page.
Equality Day is set for August 26th, and will commemorate the centennial virtually with one of the most well-known suffragists, Alice Paul. In addition to introducing radical tactics to build the movement, Paul is known for being the founder of the National Woman’s Party (NWP).
The NWP headquarters in Washington, D.C. is now the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. In this living history portrayal, Actress and Scholar Leslie Goddard, Ph.D., will portray suffragist Alice Paul, one of the most dynamic leaders in the fight to win votes for women. An innovative and tireless worker, Paul arranged parades, organized the first picketing demonstrations outside the White House, lobbied politicians, and endured imprisonment for women’s suffrage.
More information is available by calling (315) 568-2991 or on the park’s website.
Photo of Women’s Rights NHP historic marker provided.
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