Tag Archives: Women’s Equality Day

Blasts from the past—Long Island and its spies! PLUS suffrage centennial news!

TURN: Washington’s Spies shows Long Island in 1777 and Suffrage Wagon Cafe program shows what happened 100+ years later on Vimeo.

REFLECTING ON TV SPECIAL ABOUT GEORGE WASHINGTON AND HIS SPIES

The TV special about George Washington’s spies in 2015 didn’t come and go without folks paying attention. There’s a connection between Long Island, the colonial spy network there, and the women’s suffrage movement. We also refer to the latter as the first wave of women’s rights activism in the nation.

An excellent article appeared on The New York History Blog (John Warren, editor) that gives more fascinating background on this part of our past. “Long Island’s Austin Roe: American Spy” by Michael DeBonis fills in more of the picture.

ROSALIE JONES AND THE ROAD MARKER INSTALLATION IN HUNTINGTON, NY

And it’s a woman, Rosalie Jones, a Long Island suffrage activist 100+ years later that demonstrates how the British occupation of New York City and Long Island still resonated with living memory of this past. The installation of a marker in the town of Huntington, NY in April 2018 is another reminder of this period of American history when the conflict over independence from England was still up in the air.

See article written by Huntington’s town historian, Robert Hughes.

WHO WAS ROSALIE JONES ANYWAY?

Rosalie Jones was high profile first wave activist from Long Island.

Rosalie Jones: A high-profile Long Island Suffragist on Vimeo.

HOW THE “SPIRIT OF 1776” SUFFRAGE WAGON MADE HISTORY

The incident involving Rosalie Jones, her mother Mary Jones, and Edna Kearns was commemorated in April of 2018 by the installation of a historic marker on the main street of Huntington, NY.

Unveiling of “Spirit of 1776” heritage road marker in Huntington, NY on Vimeo.

UPDATE ABOUT AUGUST 26TH AND A POSSIBLE FEDERAL HOLIDAY

What did you plan for August 26th—Women’s Equality Day—this year? We’re supporting the building a base of support, in people’s homes and communities across the nation to make the date a federal holiday. There’s a growing audience to hear about opportunities to get together, share food, and passions. The National Women’s History Project has been working for over 40 years to write women into American history. This is part of the continuing effort. And making August 26th into a holiday is a priority of the National Women’s History Project, an organization now known as the National Women’s History Alliance.

KEEPING THE STORY OF INEZ MILHOLLAND BEFORE THE PUBLIC

The NWHP sponsored a centennial observance of the death of Inez Milholland in 1916. The centennial blog of this effort is still broadcasting the news. Stop by and say hello: InezMilholland.wordpress.com

And find out about the terrific 15-minute film, “Forward into Light,” that is perfect to view for your organization’s events for August 26th and all during 2020, an election year and centennial of US women voting. It’s a terrific introduction to the country’s suffrage martyr. Find out more at: InezMilholland.org

REMINDER FROM THE NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM IN ALBANY, NY

The New York State Museum in Albany, NY will exhibit the “Spirit of 1776” suffrage campaign wagon used by Edna Kearns (resident of Long Island and NYC) and others in organizing for women’s voting rights. Are you planning a trip in 2020? There’s a lot being planned NOW.

VOTES FOR WOMEN CENTENNIAL INFORMATION RESOURCES

Here at Suffrage Centennials, we carry on. New York State is the “cradle” of the women’s rights movement in the United States. If you didn’t already visit the cradle in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, make plans for 2019 and 2020, the national suffrage centennial.

And visit our sister sites—Suffrage Wagon News Channel and LetsRockTheCradle.com

Get ready for 2020, the observance of 100 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution when the nation’s women will have been voting for 100 years.

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A Prediction about August 26th and the Memories of Americans

We are on a roll convincing Americans that August 26th, Women’s Equality Day, should be a national holiday. The National Women’s History Project has been testing the water on this. It appears that the idea is beginning to catch hold. It hasn’t happened yet, and no one is predicting any arguments in public. The idea is just starting to register. And swells take quite a while to begin rolling on the ground.

This is no fly-by-night idea. Discussions about the importance of August 26th have been kicking around for a while. The U.S. Congress got Women’s Equality Day up and running. The same with March, Women’s History Month, designed in large part, to write women into history—supported and nursed by the Women’s National History Project over the past 40 years. Writing women into history is, by no means, a radical idea.

But since women have been an unrecognized resource in our nation, we have to look to the future, and we see a future where August 26th is recognized for what it is—an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the accomplishments of millions of Americans.

Let’s bring August 26th out into the Light. One web platform has a rallying cry: Lets Rock the Cradle.

Check it out: LetsRockTheCradle.com

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NEWS and reminder about August 26th—Women’s Equality Day!

Women’s Equality Day has its own entry on Wikipedia. It tells anyone who visits the internet that the day of August 26th is to commemorate the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution guaranteeing women’s right to vote and the long and lonely decades dedicated to its passage.

Women’s Equality Day was first celebrated in 1973, and every year the US President announces the observance. But don’t be fooled. It is not a national holiday although many people are advocating for this. The National Women’s History Project (nwhp.org) has put out a call for supporters of making August 26th a national holiday. Membership is free.

NATIONAL EQUALITY PLEDGE

Kamala Lopez, filmmaker of “Equal Means Equal,” is working on distributing a national equality pledge to identify elected officials with their stand on the Equal Rights Amendment. Many grassroots and supporting organizations are using “Equal Means Equal” and other contemporary films and videos for fundraising. “Iron Jawed Angels” remains a popular choice.

INEZ MILHOLLAND IS STILL IN THE PUBLIC EYE

The New  York Times has identified Inez Milholland as number three on a list of ten women who would be good choices for a statue in NYC. Milholland gave her life for women’s right to vote. She died when on the lecture trail in 1916 from pernicious anemia. In 2016, the National Women’s History Project sponsored a year to bring Inez Milholland’s story out of the background and to the attention of the nation. Marguerite Kearns and Robert P.J. Cooney directed the effort. Martha Wheelock produced a film, “Forward into Light,” a 15 minute film about Inez. Thousands of films were distributed free throughout the nation. Follow the Inez Milholland centennial blog for news and views about this continuing effort:

InezMilholland.wordpress.com

IN OTHER NEWS—Tennessee and Washington, DC:

The Tennessee Woman Suffrage Board has sent out invitations to a celebration on Saturday, August 25, 2018 at 11 a.m. at the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument
 Centennial Park in Nashville. Completed suffrage monuments, now part of the landscape in Tennessee, include Jackson, Knoxville and Nashville. Three more are in progress: 
Chattanooga, Clarksville, and Memphis. Open to the public. A lawn chair and umbrella for rain or shade from the sun is recommended for the August 25th event.

The National Women’s History Museum is promoting tours, starting today, that follow the 1913 woman suffrage parade through DC. The tour starts at the Capitol Reflecting Pool by the Grant Memorial. The tour covers 1.5 miles, lasts about two hours, and ends in Lafayette Square across from the White House. Dates include August 11, 17, 18, 24 and 31, 2018. Contact the Museum web site for more information and cost.

UPDATE ON TURNING POINT SUFFRAGIST MEMORIAL:

 

SuffrageCentennials.com continues to work toward 2020, the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Follow us on the blog, Twitter, Facebook, and email subscription.

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Get ready to celebrate Women’s Equality Day on August 26th, PLUS suffrage centennial news!

Are you and your organization ready to celebrate Women’s Equality Day on August 26th? Have you ever held an August 26th fundraiser? Or presented a special mention about August 26th at your organization’s meeting? This may already be late for deep planning, but it’s not too late to be thinking about it. Get started now and then see what happens. You may be surprised.

August 26th isn’t a national holiday even though it should be. Ask your friends if they are aware of why August 26th is significant. See how many know that it’s the commemoration of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing American women the right to vote. Important? You bet. The 2020 election is coming up. Will the US finally have a woman candidate of a major U.S. American party who will bring women voters together? Start by some August 26th awareness.

Amelia Bowen reads the joint resolution of the US Congress in 1971, introduced in Congress by Rep. Bella Abzug. August 26th of each year has been designated as Women’s Equality Day. It celebrates the ratification of the 19th amendment to the US Constitution in 1920. The audio podcast was produced by Suffrage Wagon News Channel.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Lake Placid, New York is on the bandwagon with a suffrage centennial exhibit at The History Museum at the Lake Placid train station created by the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society that opened officially on June 27, 2018.

The Suffolk County Historical Society on Long Island (NY) continues with its membership drive. Please keep this in mind when looking to support suffrage-friendly organizations. The Suffolk County Historical Society created an excellent display featuring Long Island suffrage activists during 2017 when New York State celebrated its 100 years of its women voting. This exhibition attracted considerable interest, and now an edited version of the highlights can be seen in a display case in the Historical Society’s basement.

Don’t forget to contact the National Women’s History Project for copies of “How Women Won the Vote.” They’re great handouts for August 26th events and a valuable source of information about the importance of planning for 2020 now.

Follow SuffrageCentennials.com for more updates, news, views, trends, and special events.

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Only one more state to go for ERA: Plan now for August 26th, Women’s Equality Day!

Suffrage activist Rosalie Jones and Edna Kearns, left, on their way hiking in the direction of Albany, NY to see the governor about voting rights, 1914.

BREAKING NEWS: The state of Illinois passed the Equal Rights Amendment which means there is one state to go before the ERA is added to the U.S. Constitution. Here’s the list. Send emails and make phone calls!

Democratic Representative Lou Lang, who worked for this for over 20 years—- Langli@ilga.gov (217) 782-1252

Republican Representative Steven Andersson who helped get his Republican colleagues on board —-
steve@staterep65.com (217) 782-5457

Democratic Rep. Anthony DeLuca —– repdeluca@sbcglobal.net (217)782-1719

Republican Rep. Robert Pritchard —- bob@pritchardstaterep.com (217) 782-0425

Republican Rep. Christine Winger —- winger@ilhousegop.org (217) 7824014

Knuckle down and put on your thinking cap. There’s a buzz going on from now through 2020. And 2020 is an election year. Don’t forget to put suffrage centennial events and celebrations on your “to do” list.

Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow Suffrage Centennials on our Facebook page, 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.

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August 26th special events to celebrate Women’s Equality Day!

Women voters: Voting rights didn’t come easy. Follow on Vimeo.

The National Woman’s Party and the National Park Service will hold an open house from 9 to 5 on Women’s Equality Day, August 26, for a special exhibit of the NWP’s collection in the Florence Bayard Hilles Feminist Library at the Washington DC location. Take a special tour and enjoy the programming with a park ranger that includes a historic interpreter of Lucy Burns and a special conversation. More programs to be announced!

The Tennessee Woman Suffrage Monument Board and friends will gather on August 26, 2017 at the suffrage monument in Centennial Park at 9:15 a.m.in Nashville, TN from the front of the Parthenon on a short walk to the monument. The march begins at 9:30 a.m. and the program for 10-10:45. Some will dress in 1920s attire.

An exhibit at the New York State Fair (August 23-Sept. 4) celebrating the 2017 state suffrage centennial will be open throughout the fair at the Empire Expo Center (Syracuse, NY) in the Art & Home Center. The exhibit will feature the traveling panels of the New York State Museum’s upcoming exhibit, “Votes For Women: Celebrating New York’s Suffrage Centennial,” along with panels profiling leaders of the suffrage movement. I LOVE NEW YORK and Path Through History will provide a map highlighting 13 destinations around the state for further exploration of women’s rights. The exhibit will also display replicas of key suffrage movement documents as well as the Susan B. Anthony House’s 2020 Quilt, a collaborative textile art project celebrating the suffrage centennial.

 

On Women’s Day, Aug. 30, 2017 Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will keynote the annual Women’s Day luncheon in the Empire Room. A reservation is required for the luncheon and seating is limited so registering as soon as possible is recommended. The cost is $20 which covers the luncheon, admission to the Fair, and parking. Call 315-487-7711 ext. 1265 for more information. The New York State Women’s Suffrage Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Governor Hochul, will meet in the exhibit room in the afternoon. An information fair linking women to important resources will take place at the Chevy Court Pavilion that day.

 

The Fair’s special day parade at 6 p.m. Aug. 30 will be led by reenactors portraying Susan B. Anthony and Matilda J. Gage. They will be joined by members of Girl Scout troops from around the state. The state fair is offering free admission to any Girl Scout and troop leader for Women’s Day. Troop leaders in the NYPENN Pathways Council can call 1-800-943-4414 ext. 2093 to receive tickets. Leaders of other troops in New York State should contact the Fair’s Public Relations Office at 315-487-7711 ext. 1377. The Girl Scouts patch celebrating the suffrage centennial will be on display in the suffrage centennial xxhibit.

Suffrage CentennialsFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, 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.

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Suffrage Centennial News Notes 2017

GET INVOLVED WITH “PROTECTING THE LEGACY”

“Protecting the Legacy” is a state-wide effort in Tennessee to digitize oral histories, photographs, documents, and other memorabilia on African American women’s political activity, voting history and suffrage. The project is organized by Chick History, a women’s history nonprofit, in partnership with Humanities Tennessee and a diverse set of committees and partners across Tennessee – as part of a statewide project to commemorate the upcoming centennial of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment in 2020.

The history project is looking for stories, photographs, letters, and family history about African-American women and activism as well as stories and experiences of early African-American women voters, 1930 and earlier. For more information about participating, please visit www.protect.chickhistory.org or email: info@chickhistory.com. The project will continue over the next two years.

OUTREACH FROM THE OFFICE OF STATE HISTORY IN NEW YORK

News and information relevant to the history profession in New York State, including new digital and public history projects, events, scholarship, as well as reflections and suggestions on teaching and writing, reviews of (new and old) historically-oriented movies, TV shows, and books. To contribute, contact the Office of State History via email at: statehistory@nysed.gov with a short pitch.

THE 19TH AMENDMENT TO THE U.S. CONSTITUTION —CELEBRATE ON AUGUST 26TH

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States of by any State on account of sex. On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution, and women in America finally gained the legal right to vote.

For 97 years, women and men across the county have recognized this special observance. Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), had the U.S. Congress designate August 26 as “Women’s Equality Day” in 1971 to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.

Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, 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.

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Pick up on the energy of the 2017 women’s march by planning a celebration or special event!

Watch the Video

Suggestions for celebrations and special programs at Suffrage Centennials! on Vimeo.

The 2017 women’s march in Washington, DC, across the nation and around the world was thrilling. It seemed like we were speaking to a deep dark hole in 2015 when we celebrated the 95th observance of the 19th Amendment. Now, 2020 is next when American women will have been voting for 100 years. Upcoming: Women’s History Month in March 2017; Convention Days in Seneca Falls, NY in July, and we’re challenging you now to start planning for August 26th. Start with your organization or community event. Don’t forget that in 2016 another women’s history national monument was added to the National Park Service—the Belmont-Paul National Monument in Washington, DC.

The remainder of this weekend is to process and let sink in the impact of the 2017 march on Washington. Millions of people participated online and the impact will be magnified. Onward!

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, 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.

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The 95th anniversary of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 2015. . . plus news notes

This coming August 26th, Women’s Equality Day, is the 95th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that extended the right to vote to American women. There are many media references to 2020, the nation’s suffrage centennial or the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. And five years to go might seem like a long time, but the time is passing quickly. The Women on Money campaign this year set 2020, the national suffrage centennial, as its goal for the U.S Treasury to place a woman’s image on national currency. And advocates for the revival of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) are also looking toward 2020 for the completion of the ERA’s ratification. There’s still plenty of time to plan something special for August 26th. Check out the audio recording to find out about the designation by the U.S. Congress in 1971 to create Women’s Equality Day on August 26th.

OTHER NEWS NOTES: New York State residents are urged to contact their state representatives in the NYS Assembly and Senate to fund the New York women’s suffrage centennial commission that will be planning events and celebrations in 2017. The New York Council for the Humanities has made available a web site link that makes this easy for the state’s citizens. New York State women won the right to vote in November 1917. The year 2015 is the centennial observance of the 1915 NYS suffrage referendum that may have lost, but an infrastructure was created that led to the 1917 victory. For more information. October 1, 2015 is the date for a conference sponsored by the NYS Cultural Heritage Tourism Network at the Holiday Inn Waterloo/Seneca Falls, 9-4 p.m., to address issues including: Working with “I Love NY” to promote 2017 events, the connection of Native-Americans, African Americans, and religious groups to the women’s rights movement, and how to attract visitors to the state during 2017. For more information.

Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, 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.

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Countdown to the 2020 suffrage centennial

On Women’s Equality Day, Vision 2020 held a “Toast to Tenacity” at the Independence Visitors Center at Fifth and Market Streets in Philadelphia, PA. Vision 2020 is counting down to the suffrage centennial in 2020. One of its new initiatives is the online “Doctor or Doctress?” online exhibit, one of many initiatives in preparation for the 2020 votes for women suffrage centennial. Vision 2020, a national organization, is based in Philadelphia. It’s working to achieve women’s economic and social equality by the year 2020, the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution that granted women the right to vote. Vision 2020 delegates have been appointed in all 50 states for this important votes for women celebration. For more information.

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