Category Archives: Blog

VIDEO—Join with the voting rights “Toast for Tenacity” originating from Philadelphia!

We are proud participants in the Vision 2020 effort to celebrate August 26th. On the 26th of August, or Women’s Equality Day, we’re supporting the “Toast to Tenacity,” the moment when we can join together —across all kinds of boundaries—and raise our glasses to celebrate an accomplishment of the past that is affecting us today and into the future—the expansion of the right to vote.

You can raise your glass and join with friends. Here’s the announcement from Vision 2020’s web platform:

“… Vision 2020 is hosting its annual Toast to Tenacity, on August 26, 2020 in honor of Women’s Equality Day!
“Every year we raise a glass of grape juice, as the suffragists did due to prohibition, to toast to those who fought for women’s voting rights, and this year marks the official centennial of the 19th amendment.
“If you are planning to host a toast this year, complete a Google Form so we can feature you in the official Women 100 Toast to Tenacity livestream and/or in our newsletter and social media channels. Whether your team is toasting from the comfort of their own homes, safely gathering with others, or hosting a virtual program, we want to hear about it and possibly feature you!
How to Get Involved
“Please refer to our *updated* Toast to Tenacity Toolkit, where you will find a wealth of information. From understanding the history of the suffrage movement to tagging #ToastToTenacity on social media, everything you need to know is in the toolkit. Complete the Google Form, even if your plan is to remain cozy at home with coffee as you raise your mug for a toast. We love seeing the variety of experiences tagged on social media.”
Joyce Lewandowski, from Vision 2020
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A Toast to those who came before us! Special from Suffrage Wagon News Channel  on Vimeo.

Thanks to Franco Salzillo, food and drink writer, for the Nineteenth Amendment toast recipe.

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

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Meneese Wall’s suffrage book released in August 2020!

  • About the Author

When Meneese Wall’s daughter asked why her American History classes were all about men, Meneese decided she had to help write women back into our sphere of historical influence. She believes curiosity and aesthetics matter. Understanding history helps inform our present and our future while beauty, in its many forms, makes our journey all the more enjoyable. Writing and illustrating We Demand The Right To Vote is Meneese’s contribution to each American’s history education, with the hope it will inspire a more inclusive society through knowledge of how, in part, we arrived at today’s societal norms.

  • Book Summary– Ever wonder what our foremothers were doing while our forefathers were making recorded history? And what did these women do to claim their social and political power to change their circumstances?

We Demand the Right to Vote: The Journey to the 19th Amendment introduces readers to American women’s civil rights movement known as “Women’s Suffrage”—women’s 72-year struggle for social and political equality that culminated in their winning the right to vote via the 19th Amendment. With that right well in hand, women could change their worlds.

Written in a conversational, easy-to-read style, this illustrated historical account commences with Native American cultural influences and continues with women’s conventions, arrests, trials, petitions, battles won, and those lost to reveal society’s slow acceptance of women’s involvement outside of their socially prescribed realm. Throughout the book’s journey, enchanting artwork—inspired by historical events, people, quotes, and memorabilia—visually illustrates the various pivotal moments chronicled in each chapter.

We Demand the Right to Vote is an overview from the national perspective of this defining period in women’s history which is not taught in schools. Both a history book and an art book, We Demand The Right To Vote is ideal for audiences of all ages—an enjoyable, beautiful, and rousing read worth further exploration.

  • What Makes This Book Unique

– Most books about the American Women’s Civil Rights Movement—known as Women’s Suffrage—focus on a particular person or timeframe within women’s 72-year struggle for enfranchisement—1848 to 1920. We Demand The Right To Vote, however, is an overview from the national perspective of this entire pivotal period in American history. Through writing that quickly informs and illustrations that bring history alive, readers learn the sequence of events that led to women winning their right to vote via the passage of the 19th Amendment.

– As an overview of this pivotal time in history, We Demand The Right To Vote empowers readers with the big picture about women’s journey to the 19th Amendment, thereby allowing them to better choose the areas of this history in which they wish to delve deeper, through other books that focus on more singular aspects of women’s history.

– We Demand is terrific for readers whose aim is to achieve an overall understanding of women’s civil rights movement without having to read numerous books to boast the same knowledge.

– We Demand is the only short illustrated all-ages history book about women’s 72-year struggle to win enfranchisement offered for this 2020 centennial.

– We Demand begins with the influence of Native American women, where other books in this space do not include this cultural impact.

– We Demand The Right To Vote is both a history book and an art book.

  • Book Information

Title – We Demand The Right To Vote: The Journey to the 19th Amendment

Author & Illustrator – Meneese Wall

Publisher – Paxton Press

Release Date – August 1, 2020

ISBN – 978-1-7349010-0-9

Format – 8×10 Paperback

Retail Price – $21.95

Author Bio – Meneese Wall is a writer and graphic artist. Her work is inspired by the public, private, and often secret lives of real people. She lives in Santa Fe, NM.

Author/Writer/Graphic Artist

www.meneesewall.com

505-989-1197 

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Plan for August 26th and Women’s Equality Day! News updates from SuffrageCentennials.com!

A TIMELINE OF WHEN WOMEN WON THE RIGHT TO VOTE FROM AROUND THE WORLD

To make sure that we view the overall issues, Tom Matthews from Historic-newspapers.com brought a world timeline to my attention that places a great deal into perspective. Link into the global timeline and click away from the first to some of the more recent planetary governments granting a slice of the power pie to women in terms of voting rights. Link.

Check the web site of the National Women’s History Alliance for a catalog of merchandise related to the 2020 suffrage centennial. This is a great resource for gifts, memorabilia, etc.

Overview of the “Spirit of 1776” suffrage wagon, part of New York State Museum collection! on Vimeo.

Visit the web platform: InezMilholland.org

Follow SuffrageCentennials.com.

We have been publishing since 2013 and supporting events, conferences, and initiatives related to spreading the word about early women’s rights campaigning.

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Honor 2020, the suffrage centennial, and be a witness to US history!

Women Voters Thank Their Suffrage Ancestors from Marguerite Kearns on Vimeo.

BOOKS, FILM, EXHIBITS, AND NMEWS UPDATES CAN’T TELL THE ENTIRE STORY

Robert P.J. Cooney Jr. has released an update to his previous 2020 suffrage centennial news published in the Gazette of the National Women’s History Alliance. The coverage contains centennial products, contacts at state organizations, and news updates about the 2020 national celebration. His PDF news  blasts summarize the best of what’s out there.

Writer Marguerite Kearns muses about her book now in the publication pipeline for release in June of 2021 (“An Unfinished Revolution”). “It’s difficult to piece together what really happened behind the scenes in my family as my grandparents Edna and Wilmer participated in the early women’s rights movement…I had to reconstruct an enormous puzzle to end up with the truth,” she said recently.

ONE PAST VIDEO HIGHLIGHTED THE 1915 ACTIVITY OF SUFFRAGIST ACTIVIST EDNA KEARNS

NYS suffrage activists hit the ground running in 1915! on Vimeo.

EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT EFFORT MOVES AHEAD IN THE COURTS

From the ERA Coalition: “The battle for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) entered another phase as 52 prominent women’s rights and social justice groups across the country filed an amicus curiae brief opposing the efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop the Equal Rights Amendment following its ratification by Nevada, Illinois and Virginia – the final three of the thirty-eight states required for an amendment to the Constitution.

ATTEND AN ONLINE DEDICATION CEREMONY AT THE GRAVE OF EDNA KEARNS

Gravestone Dedication for Quaker activist Edna Buckman Kearns, plus her parents May & Charles Buckman. Plymouth Meeting, PA (Germantown & Butler Pikes).

Online observance. October 1-30, 2020. SuffrageWagon.org/BurialGroundDedication. 505-982-0241 for more information.

ZOOM dedication service (live) on a specific date in October 2020 will be announced. Check the web page announcing the burial ground dedication: SuffrageWagon.org/BurialGroundDedication

VISIT OUR SISTER SUFFRAGE SITES—

We’re persisting in remembering our US suffrage martyr: InezMilhollandCentennial.com

InezMilholland.wordpess.com

Follow SuffrageCentennials.com  Publishing since 2013.

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News Notes from All Over—from SuffrageCentennials.com!

“Capturing the Flag” is a film about ensuring the integrity of voting.

LINDA J. ALLEN’S SUFFRAGE MUSIC IS PART OF THE 2020 19th AMENDMENT CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Visit www.lindasongs.com/suffrage Listen to Failure Is Impossible, a collection of traditional voting rights songs, and Here’s to the Women!, recently composed songs of suffrage.  Purchase digital downloads or hard copies of Here’s to the Women! Contact Linda J. Allen directly.

On Here’s to the Women, there’s a variety of personalities and movers and shakers. “If You Had Seen Inez” is a tribute to national suffrage martyr Inez Milholland.  In “Night of Terror” the focus is on the history of the jailing of activists at Occoquan Workhouse.  “Bubble and Squeak” honors the many movement cookbooks.

SPECIAL VIRTUAL PROGRAMS

Find out about all of the virtual programs at the Women’s Rights Historic Park in Seneca Falls, NY this coming weekend by consulting their web site.

PBS SPECIAL DOCUMENTARY IN JULY BROUGHT AWARENESS OF EARLY WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS TO NATION

The twp-part PBS documentary on July 6 and 7, 2020 has brought the story of the early women’s rights movement to millions of Americans. Even some of the “experts” on this period of history admitted that until relatively recently they didn’t know much about the three generations of activists who made women voting a priority in their lives. The documentary made one thing clear— considerable work is still necessary.

In 2023, for example, US women will have been working for 100 years to make sure women’s equal rights are included in the nation’s Constitution. Suffrage centennials are still on the horizon. Stay tuned!

THE BACKGROUND STORIES BEHIND THE WOMEN’S RIGHTS CAMPAIGNING

Suffrage descendant Marguerite Kearns reveals some of the pressure she was under when researching and writing the book about her grandmother Edna Kearns and grandfather Wilmer Kearns about their participation in the early womens’ rights movement. At one point, she says the future of the book was in doubt. Marguerite laid the work aside and waited until she had a broader perspective. The final work, “An Unfinished Revolution: Edna Buckman Kearns and the Struggle for Women’s Rights” is in the publishing pipeline and scheduled for release in June of 2021 by SUNY Press in Albany, NY. It’s one family’s story of how social activism was woven into their lives together.

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

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Other opportunities to watch the PBS documentary, “The Vote”!

Other opportunities to watch “The Vote” from PBS.  The documentary aired July 6, 2020. It’s on the “American Experience” web site, and it expires July 5, 2023. It’s the first opportunity for many to learn about the early women’s rights effort.

Volunteers stepped forward in 2016 to spread the word about Inez Milholland, an American activist who died for our right to vote. Back then, relatively few Americans had heard of Inez. The year 2016 was the 100th anniversary of Milholland’s death. Sustained and persistent work was successful, but only to a point. It didn’t address other women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

For more information about Inez: InezMilhollandCentennial.com   InezMilholland.org

InezMilholland.wordpress.com

Join in the search to find other US women who could also be classified as martyrs. Follow SuffrageCentennials.com to discover what we dig up from history.

EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT UPDATE IN THE US SENATE

The ERA Coalition is urging the US Senate to pass SJ Res 6 to remove the time limit from the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).

THE AFTERMATH OF THE PBS DOCUMENTARY, “THE VOTE”

The broadcasting of the two part documentary, “The Vote,” this week was a major contribution to Americans knowing about a major movement for social justice that took decades and considerable effort. One response was consistent—”I had no idea it was so uphill and created such controversy.”

Some of those who worked on the PBS documentary admitted they had gone through life, many specializing in history, and they knew little or nothing about the voting rights controversies and fierce campaigning. This was also noted by several writers, now well known—that they’d gone through life without a clue of what their ancestors and family members had gone through until the past few years.

Support August 26th (Women’s Equality Day) becoming a national holiday!

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Watch “The Vote” today! Coline Jenkins—a persistent women’s suffrage descendant! And MORE!

REMINDER ABOUT WATCHING “THE VOTE” PBS DOCUMENTARY

Check broadcast times for your area PBS station.


On Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s 200th birthday, her descendant Coline Jenkins stood on a street corner in Johnstown, NY and spoke about her great great grandmother. Jenkins has supported special suffrage projects and taken advantage of numerous efforts to spread the word about the early women’s rights movement long before the movement was even noticed and recognized as a major contribution to US history.

Jenkins’ persistence and generous efforts to assist others has led to a cumulative a groundswell of support culminating in the 2020 centennial observance of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Stanton’s 200th birthday was in 2016. The documentary on PBS about US women struggling to win the right to vote will be broadcast today and tomorrow.

Message above from Turning Point Suffragist Memorial in Lorton, Virginia.

SUFFRAGE DESCENDANTS ARE PART OF THE LARGER STORY

Suffrage descendants frequently have the will and persistence of their ancestors. They have persisted in getting out the word about the long and uphill struggle to win women’s rights. For Marguerite Kearns, her grandmother Edna Buckman Kearns was a suffrage activist in NYS whose spiritual leading included working on the community level to win voting rights for women. The book, “An Unfinished Revolution: Edna Buckman Kearns and the Struggle for Women’s Rights” by Marguerite Kearns is scheduled for publication by SUNY Press (State University of New York) in June of 2021.

SUFFRAGE BOOK BY MENEESE WALL TO BE LAUNCHED ON AUGUST 1, 2020

When Meneese Wall’s daughter asked why her American History classes were all about men, Meneese decided she had to help write women back into our sphere of historical influence. She believes curiosity and aesthetics matter. Understanding history helps inform our present and our future while beauty, in its many forms, makes our journey all the more enjoyable. Writing and illustrating We Demand The Right To Vote is Meneese’s contribution to each American’s history education, with the hope it will inspire a more inclusive society through knowledge of how, in part, we arrived at today’s societal norms. Watch for the official launch on August 1, 2020. Look for details on SuffrageCentennials.com

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

 

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Patriotism had different meanings at the turn of the 20th century!


Patriotic Protest theme of suffrage movement included “Spirit of 1776” wagon! on Vimeo.

At the turn of the 20th century the term “patriotism” had different meanings. To some, it referred to what has become known as “patriotic protest.” This meant that to be patriotic, it was important to point out what was wrong and fix it. The “Spirit of 1776” suffrage wagon found its meaning in this definition. So did the Liberty Bell replica used by suffrage activists in 1915 in Pennsylvania.

By World War I, the other definition of patriotism came into more prominent usage. The definition of patriotism as protest can be found in the early women’s rights movement as well as many other social movements of the 20th century.

Happy Fourth of July.

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

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Honoring the 4th of July, a centennial celebration in 1876!

THE STORY OF JULY 4TH LONG AGO. . .

Over 140 years ago on July 4th, suffrage activists traveled to Philadelphia to be part of the nation’s celebration of the Declaration of Independence. It was too good of an opportunity not to make the point that the American Revolution was far from finished as far as women were concerned.

THE UNFINISHED REVOLUTION WAS CITED OFTEN BY THE EARLY WOMEN’S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS!

The women’s rights activists of 1876 asked permission to be part of the Philadelphia centennial program and were refused. Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote about the day in vivid detail in her memoir. This is Part I read by Suffrage Wagon reader, Amelia Bowen, who says this is one of her favorite selections. I’m turning up the volume as I’m counting out one paper plate, one cup, tableware, and a napkin on my way to the outside picnic table.

IN OTHER NEWS FROM SUFFRAGE CENTENNIALS. . .

Go directly to the suffrage catalog compiled by Bob Cooney for the National Women’s History Alliance. The catalog can now be directly consulted at its own URL. In addition, there are four additional pages devoted to items perfect for suffrage centennial and related events and programs. Link.

QUAKER THEME IN THE STORY OF EDNA BUCKMAN KEARNS EMPHASIZED IN SUFFRAGE WAGON BLOG

Edna Buckman Kearns was a Quaker. She wasn’t on a sports team at a Philadelphia-area college. And she didn’t have oatmeal for breakfast every morning. Quakers, or those associated with the Religious Society of Friends, have struggled for decades with the result of what many term as a cultural appropriation of the label, Quakers, and what this has meant. Quakers struggled with the moral, legal, and commercial implications of slavery until banning it within their ranks before the Civil War.

“The Vote,” the PBS documentary, due to be broadcast on July 6 and 7, 2020, explains the basics of Quaker spiritual foundations in equality and the importance of Quaker women in various roles during the early women’s rights movement. It’s an important contribution to the discussion of how and why outside influences such as Native American equality traditions and those practicing equality in their personal lives were essential to the larger picture.

CONVENTION DAYS IN SENECA FALLS, NY DURING 2020

Do a search for “Convention Days” and “Seneca Falls” to find out the status of 2020 celebrations in Seneca Falls, NY. Some events and programs have been cancelled or rescheduled. Others have shifted to online. Check out this virtual conference, advertised below, in late July 2020.

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

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News Alert from Suffrage Centennials…”The Vote” screening, plus more!

NEWS NOTES FROM SUFFRAGECENTENNIALS.COM 

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

Check out our sister web platforms:

Suffrage Wagon News Channel and LetsRockTheCradle.com

 

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