The 19th Amendment: Celebrating 100 Years
More than 100 years ago, women were fighting for the right to vote. Along with the United States, women living in other parts of the world were also seeking political equality. This month, we celebrate women with the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which states, “No citizen can be denied the right to vote based on sex”. Protesting and marching, woman suffragists fought long and hard for their right because they understood the power of changing their world with a vote. I’m reminded of protests that are happening today, where I see people from all across our country, coming together to support each other’s freedom to live without fear. How strange that 100 years later we’re all fighting again for the right to cast our ballots.
Representation for the People
Among strong and determined women today, we celebrate Kamala Harris. A United States Senator representing the State of California, Harris spoke at the Democratic National Convention this past week. Americans all across the country, watched from their homes as she accepted the nomination for Vice President.
A representative of women and people of color is what our country so desperately needs, and Kamala Harris is bringing it. With a Father born in Jamaica, and Mother from India, Harris is also voice for immigrants and single parents. Harris’ own parents divorced when she was young, leaving her to grow up in a single parent household.
Personal understanding and natural empathy, created by experiences in her own life, really help Harris relate to the many situations of the American people. Later, as California’s Attorney General, Harris fought for the right and officiated the first same sex marriage in California. Representation matters.
American Women’s Rights Movement
More than 100 years ago, in 1848, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Quaker abolitionist Lucretia Mott got together for tea to discuss organizing their own convention for Women’s Rights in the United States. Living in that time meant married women couldn’t own property or even keep wages they earned, but they effectively launched the American Women’s rights Movement. Stanton and Mott, like so many other women suffragists, realized that in order to have any power to change things, women needed to vote.
When the Civil War was over, a poet and novelist named Frances Ellen Watkins Harper spoke at the Eleventh National Women’s Rights Convention in NYC. Talking about the injustices she had experienced as a woman, and the suffering she endured, Harper spoke to a mainly white female audience, who listened with empathy to her story. Harper explained that black women were fighting for their rights, and that the two causes must be fought together,
“We are all bound up together,” Harper said, “in one great bundle of humanity.”
Source: National Geo 8/ 20 p.108 The Fight to Be Heard, by Rachel Hartigan
Representation
Imagining being represented by someone who is more like yourself. A representative like you might understand you, and know how to fight for your rights. It might mean understanding the need for real change in broken systems, or breathing easier because your representative would not tolerate police officers killing Black Lives. #BlackLivesMatter
Not only is it time to have women in the 2020 presidential election, but more than 100 Black male leaders signed a statement of solidarity, requiring a Black woman vice president.
“The urgency for that pick has gone from something that should happen to something that has to happen.”
100 Black male leaders, #WinWithBlackWomen
More girls today grow up with ethnic or female leadership than when I was young. Leaders like Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Fair Fight Action 2020’s Chair Stacey Abrams, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot; these are powerful women who are able to stand strong for justice. In a world where Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobachar and Kamala Harris ran for president, all girls today can see a future that is opening up to include them. And why shouldn’t we have female leadership when 51% of the United States population is female? In the 2016 election nearly 10 million more women voted than men, but still less than a quarter of our members of Congress are women. We have come far, but we must stay focused on the goal.
“No country ever has had or ever will have peace until every citizen has a voice in the government.”
Suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton
With the establishment of Black Lives Matter and the #metoo movement, many people are finding ways to speak out against injustice. Some may wonder why protesters go to parades and rallies where there is risk of violence. Actually, being willing to take such risks speaks to the urgency of the need.
Can Kids Protest?
My Mom reminded me about going to my first demonstration when I was 4 yrs old. We were vegetarians living in London in 1971, demonstrating against the Smithfield Meat Market. We protested again later that fall, and my Mom said I ended up riding in a big vehicle with a cow on top. I wish I could remember it.
I do have memories from the March for ERA that we attended in Richmond, Virginia, when I was about 12. Television celebrities Alan Alda and Barbara Feldon took turns speaking before a big crowd. After the initial excitement of seeing them, I remember being much more interested in playing a pinball machine just inside the door of a restaurant, but I also knew we were there for something important; something my Mom was fighting for. She was even fighting for me, and other women, like her Mother. I knew we were there because women were not getting equal pay for doing the same work as men.
Growing up, my Mom would point out the inequalities in life and we’d talk. She gave me books about equality, like Free to Be You and Me, Fire girl, Girls Can Be Anything, and a Carol Burnett book called What I Want to Be When I Grow Up. Carol’s book is filled with photographs of her performing all kinds of jobs, from Police Officer to Angler to Construction Worker. I stared at those pictures, and seeing Carol in jobs that were traditionally male helped to break the barrier. It may not have been conscious, but because of my Mom, knew I could be anything and anyone.
Becoming aware of stereotyping helped me notice when it was happening. Like the day at school I was excited to catch my art mobile as it was being released from the ceiling. My teacher stopped me, saying, “Paul will get it, because little girls can’t catch.” I was surprised and insulted and told everyone, “She said little girls can’t catch but that’s not true because I can catch.“
It’s surprising to see the similarities to life 100 years ago in our current protests. For example, during WW l, some people became angry with protesters and chased them and spit on them. Instead of protecting the protesters, police arrested them and took them to prisons. One awful night, those in power threw women prisoners against iron furniture. By 1917, this news spread and that’s part of what began to change public opinion. It took a little more time, but on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified. What do you think our future will bring? Do you have a vision for your country?
Next Generation Stepping Up
Since January 2017, my kids have learned to march. We’ve attended every Denver Women’s March, the March for Our Lives, Pride Fests, and Black Lives Matters protests. I am so proud of our younger generation for standing up for others and for what is right. This generation is teaching us more about empathy, and empathy is what we need right now, to move into a place of love.
“When you see something that is not right you must say something, you must do something.”
Wisdom from Former US Representative John Lewis
As we move forward, the next 20 years will be a powerful time of change. It will be a time of growth, and a time to realize how much we can gain from recognizing the value in each other. We can try to stay positive, but it’s okay to get angry. I get angry wondering why some are so afraid of others instead of having empathy. Here’s a great quote from Anthropologist Wade Davis, Author of The Unraveling of America:
“The measure of success in a civilized nation is not the currency accumulated by the lucky few, but the strength of social relations and bonds of reciprocity that sort of bind everybody one way or another into a common purpose.” -Wade Davis, Anthropologist
Video: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/amanpour-and-company/video/is-this-the-end-of-the-american-era/
Article: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/political-commentary/covid-19-end-of-american-era-wade-davis-1038206/
This is heavy stuff but maybe he is right. Maybe this is the conversation we need to be having, do we all even have a common purpose anymore?
On January 15, 2020, Virginia’s General Assembly passed a ratification resolution for the ERA in a 59–41 vote in the House of Delegates and 28–12 vote in the Senate,[12] and voted again for each other’s resolutions on January 27, 27–12 in the Senate and 58–40 in the House,[13] claiming to bring the number of ratifications to 38
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Rights_Amendment
I believe my Mom and I will continue to witness changes she fought for when we marched for Equal Rights, and my children and I will see the progress that comes with our marching and protesting. Let’s keep up the fight-for what we know is right. Our power to vote did not come without sacrifice, so let’s pay it forward and use that power to help others in need. As I count down the days until my son can vote in a presidential election for the very first time, I know the next generation is eager for us to pass the baton. Get ready to vote, change our world and keep moving forward…together.
More Wisdom to Keep Moving:
“So, it is up to us to add our voices and our votes to the course of history.”
-Former First Lady Michelle Obama, 2020 Democratic National Convention
“Do not let them take away your power. Do not let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you are going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too.”
-Former President Barack Obama, 2020 Democratic National Convention
“I’m so inspired by our new generation. You? You are pushing us to realize the ideals of our nation, pushing us to live the values we share: Decency, fairness, justice and love. You are Patriots, who remind us that to love our country is to fight for the ideals of our country.”
-Vice Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris, 2020 Democratic National Convention
Have some tea and discuss how you can change YOUR world by voting.
The word suffrage comes from Latin suffragium, which initially meant “a voting-tablet”, “a ballot”, “a vote”, or “the right to vote”. … In the 17th century the English suffrage regained the earlier meaning of the Latin suffragium, “a vote” or “the right to vote”.
From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suffrage
Since 1980, more women have been voting than men in presidential elections.
Source: Nat. Geographic Aug 2020, More Women Than Ever, by Monica Serrano
Ever wonder how early suffragists might have become interested, or influenced, in a different way of being? Dig deeper in The Untold story of The Iroquois Influence on Early Feminists, a book written by Sally Roesch Wagner.
If you haven’t already, please check out Kate’s video on voting: https://wisdomtokeepmoving.com/vote-early-vote-safe/
Kate– This is fantastic. I am so proud of you. Love, Dad