100 Years | 100 Women—

Don’t miss a day of talks and performances at the Park Avenue Armory in NYC on February 15, 2020 by noted artists, thinkers and cultural leaders as they explore the complex legacy of the 19th Amendment one hundred years after its ratification. Participants include photographer and scholar Deborah Willis, actor-activists Kathleen Turner and Tantoo Cardinal, spoken-word performer Caridad De La Luz “La Bruja”, vocalist Martha Redbone, visual artist Renee Cox, performance artist Karen Finley, and community organizer De’Ara Balenger and many others.

This Symposium launches 100 Years | 100 Women, an initiative of Park Avenue Armory, with lead partner National Black Theatre, and nine major cultural institutions including, The Apollo Theater, The Juilliard School, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Company, The Laundromat Project, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of the Moving Image, National Sawdust, New York University (Department of Photography and Imaging, Tisch School of the Arts; Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity and Strategic Innovation; and Institute of African American Affairs & Center for Black Visual Culture), and Urban Bush Women, who will collectively commission one hundred artists who self-identify as women to respond to this significant anniversary.

Purchase tickets now ($15, plus fees) to attend individual sessions or purchase a Day Pass ($45, plus fees) to attend the entire day.

Follow SuffrageCentennials.com.

Get the updates about the US suffrage martyr, Inez Milholland, at InezMilhollandCentennial.com

The “Spirit of 1776” suffrage campaign wagon used by Edna Buckman Kearns and others will be on exhibit in the lobby of the New York State Museum in Albany, NY starting in March, Women’s History Month, and continuing throughout the summer of 2020. Check for updates at Suffrage Wagon News Channel.

by Marguerite Kearns

1914 March of women’s rights supporters. Library of Congress.

WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY?

As women, we have been marching for our rights for more than 100 years. This is insanity. Are we going now to break the next record of 150 years of marching? How about 200 years of marching? Is this what it will take for US women and others to be considered first-class citizens?

You’d think that the 100th anniversary of women voting in 2020 would have impacted the thinking of those so-called “party leaders” who believe that old white men are what it’s going to take to win a seat in the Oval Office. But no. It’s business as usual. But we’re changing that!

DOING THE SAME THINGS OVER AND OVER AND EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT IS ALSO CALLED “INSANITY”

“Insanity” is a word spread around on the grassroots. The on-the-ground definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. It’s not that marching in public is a bad idea. Here at SuffrageCentennials.com we support marches and other demonstrations of support.

CAN WOMEN WIN? YOU BET!

BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT there’s the same old tired jargon by some who say “women can’t win.” Nonsense. The right person can win, and marches are only part of the picture. We need women who care more about people than profit to serve our nation. The time is over for insults and condescending attitudes.

In 2019 I participated in the women’s march in my community carrying the above image of women and men marching at close to life size in 1914. My grandparents were in that above photo. THAT WAS WELL OVER 100 YEARS AGO. To my knowledge, I was the only person in the 2019 parade making the link between the past and the present day.

THE YEAR 2020 IS THE TIME TO BE SAYING “NO” TO INSANITY

This is what the 2020 centennial and celebration of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution is about. Making the connection between the past and the present. You’d think the old boy network might have noticed that US women have been struggling for rights for so long, it should be embarrassing. And yet the message hasn’t sunk in yet.

NEWS ALERT: Virginia’s legislative bodies today approved the Equal Rights Amendment, making it the final state to do so. Now the process begins to legitimize the ratifications. Stay tuned!

Follow SuffrageCentennials.com

This photo is of Earth Mama, Joyce Rouse. She’s ready for action in 2020.

2020 is finally here, folks. Behind the scenes over the past decade SuffrageCentennials.com has been advocating since 2013 for a national centennial celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. The 2020 observance just didn’t happen automatically. It has taken the focus and concentration of hundreds, and even thousands of volunteers—all of us working quietly behind the scenes.

Here at SuffrageCentennials.com we have been diligently advocating for 2020 since 2013…back when many people either couldn’t pronounce the word “suffrage” or they didn’t know what it meant. And look how far we have come! And the songs of Earth Mama have been important in spreading the word.

It’s time for a song, and “Earth Mama” is prepared to give it to us. Here’s a CD that you’ll find useful this year for school, organization, and other events from the Earth Mama herself: Joyce Rouse.

Follow us at Suffrage Centennials during 2020.

Federal review and approval comes after the Town of Lewis, New York gathered public input and then voted in October to make formal request to BGN. The town now also has road markers identifying sites associated with Milholland and her family who were local residents. Inez Milholland is buried in the nearby cemetery in the Town of Lewis beside her father, John Lewis. The graves overlook Mount Inez. The Mount Inez name change had already been approved by New York’s Committee on Geographic Names, a step taken as part of federal review.

Follow the 100th anniversary of US women voting on SuffrageCentennials.com

Santa, will you save the day for honoring Inez Milholland? on Vimeo.

Back in 2016, SuffrageCentennials.com was one of many supporters of those advocating that we remember Inez Milholland (1886-1916) who has been referred to often as the US suffrage martyr.

Marguerite Kearns and Bob Cooney were the national co-chairs for the effort by the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance) to acknowledge the 100 years since the death of Inez and plan for her recognition during 2020.

Giving thanks for the outpouring of support from US women and their allies for women’s rights events and activities for 2020. Have you done your part in organizing something special for the 2020 women’s rights centennial? It commemorates the 100 years since US women have been voting.

Will you be part of the next national women’s march—held each year? on Vimeo.

Follow Suffrage Centennials on Facebook, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event. And don’t forget to pass on women’s suffrage storytelling to the next generation. Suffrage Centennial videos on Vimeo.