While the 19th Amendment – which was officially added to the U.S. Constitution on August 26, 1920 – was a major victory and cause for celebration, it did not mean an end to the suffrage story. Many women still struggled to exercise their right to vote, especially women of color. Voting rights remained an important issue then and is the focus of concern for many Evanston citizens today.
We tell the story of the long struggle for women’s right to vote to promote understanding of the importance of citizenship and the struggle that women endured to attain it. In knowing this history of the long fight for the 19th amendment we hope to encourage everyone to value their citizenship rights, to use and protect those rights, and not take them for granted.
Join us for one or all of the many things happening the week of August 22-26!
- August 25 – 7-8 p.m., Voting Rights Symposium with a panel of speakers highlighting women’s long struggle for voting rights – hosted by the Woman’s Club of Evanston in partnership with the Illinois Holocaust Museum. More here.
- August 26 – 10 a.m. – Facebook live exhibit tour and Votes for Women Trail marker unveiling for Catharine Waugh McCulloch. On the Evanston History Center facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/evanstonhistorycenter/ – @evanstonhistorycenter
- August 26 – 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. – “Evanston Women and the Fight for the Vote” exhibit reopening at Evanston History Center – reservations required – more here.
You can still participate in the following –
- Aug. 18-26 – Do-It-Yourself Suffrage March. More here. Be sure to share photos of your march in the comments section of our posts on our facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/EvanstonWomenHP/ – @EvanstonWomenHP Or you can email them here – [email protected].
- Through Aug. 30 – Suffrage Sundays video premiers from the Frances Willard House Museum – more here.