The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote. This historic centennial offers an opportunity to commemorate a milestone of democracy and to explore its relevance to the issues of equal rights, or the lack thereof today. It is also an opportunity to focus on the hard truth of history, that the 19th Amendment did not lift up African American, Native American, and immigrant women. Yet, they were among some of the most important activists of the time and deserve to be celebrated.
Among efforts already underway, The Women's Vote Centennial Initiative, a collaboration of women-centered institutions, organizations, and scholars from across the US, is working to ensure that this anniversary, and the 72-year fight to achieve it, are commemorated throughout the United States. The Governor’s Commission on the Commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the Passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was authorized in 2013.
GBCA and Visit Baltimore, along with Maryland State Arts Council, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland Humanities, and many others are working to make the state, region and the city a destination for events that explore this anniversary including the accomplishments of African American women who did not receive enfranchisement until much later in the country's history.
Is your organization planning events, performances, lectures, or other experiences that tell these important stories? GBCA and Visit Baltimore are working on a comprehensive calendar of events and we want to hear from you. Organizations are encouraged to complete this survey so that we can make sure you are included in upcoming promotions.
Efforts already underway include the 18th Berkshire Conference on the History of Women, Genders, and Sexualities being hosted by Johns Hopkins University in May; and 2020 Vision, a year of exhibitions and programs dedicated to the presentation of the achievements of female-identifying artists at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
For those of you in the classroom, Also, The Maryland Women’s Heritage Center has tools for the classroom that focus on suffrage in all its complexities.
We want to know what you have planned, so make sure you fill out the survey!
Happy August,
Jeannie
