Inequality Within Women's Equality Day - 19th Amendment

PHOTO: EVERGIB

August 26, 1920 may have marked 100 years since the day that Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification of 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote, but that did not include ALL women. It proclaimed that the federal government couldn’t deny the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex. The law was passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920. Black women faced discrimination with exclusion from women’s white-led suffrage groups as well as being told to walk at the back of suffrage parades.

“…while white women were granted the right to vote, Asian-American women could not vote until 1952, Native American women were not guaranteed the right to vote in all 50 states until 1962, and the majority of Black women did not have the right to vote until 1965. Our work as suffragettes is far from over as we still face prejudice in the forms of gerrymandering, closing of polling places in disproportionately Black and Brown communities and now, attacks on our right to vote by mail. Today marks a significant milestone that marks how far women have come in the past hundred years, but it also marks how far we still have to go.”

The fight for equality continues today, nonpartisan grassroots organization Vote Equality US promotes and advocates for the 28th Amendment (Equal Rights) - read more about it here and how you can get involved.

If you want to learn more about the Women’s Suffrage movement check out #19SuffrageStories.

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PHOTO: @EVERGIB @rvamag @rachelscotteverett writes: “Today, on the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment in our country, women may be able to vote, but we are still not guaranteed constitutional equality. History books often state that women were “given” the right to vote. In reality, women fought, marched, and organized for more than a century to obtain it. Even when the 19th Amendment was enacted, the right to vote was not available to all women. Laws restricted the vote for women of color, many of whom made the same sacrifices and contributions to achieve suffrage as their white counterparts, under greater hardship.” “...Black women did vote and run for office in New York, as opposed to many states that passed state and local laws disenfranchising them. But Native American women and Asian American women were barred from voting due to other federal citizenship laws: Native women until 1924 and some Asian women until the 1950s.” (Sarah Seidman @museumofcityny) @lizamickens shown marching here shared on @myvpm that “My great great grandmother Maggie Lena Walker was a suffragist and civil rights advocate in her own regard. She dedicated her life’s work to challenging the oppression of her race and gender- an oppression we are still working to combat today. When women got the right to vote 100 years ago, Maggie registered hundreds of Black women, and just one year later she became the first African American woman to run for statewide office in Virginia. Here we are 100 years later with our streets crying out for freedom once again. We see mothers being summoned to take a stand, children protecting their future, and advocates and allies from all over coming together for the common goal of liberty & justice for all.” “Voting is one among many crucial tools in the activist toolbox. Women have often sought change through voting or running for office, but they have also worked behind the scenes in government and pushed for change through grassroots activism. This was the case in 1920, fifty years later amidst the demands of the women’s liberation movement and in 2020, with our upcoming election today.” (MCNY) fight for equality @voteequalityus

A post shared by Amanda Nguyen Hammond (@amandanhammond) on Aug 27, 2020 at 12:07am PDT