Category Archives: Blog

CONTROVERSY—on the Six O’Clock Program of News Channel! from Vimeo.

NEWS: The Gazette for the National Women’s History Alliance is preparing its next issue highlighting the diversity of the first wave of the women’s rights movement in the US.

Historic road markers funded by the Pomeroy Foundation are in the planning stages for 2020 across the nation. Some have already been installed under this innovative program.

As 2020 approaches, more programs are being announced by groups and organizations across the nation. The buildup has been accelerating over the past few years from behind the scenes by individuals and organizations. This has been a recognition of the importance of not letting the centennial observance of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution pass without some awareness of where we have been and where we are headed.

And along with this comes criticism that includes how the movement wasn’t perfect, that it should have been better, with more volunteers, more diversity, more funding. And there has also been a recognition that without the first wave, there couldn’t have been a second wave, and so on. One measure of the momentum is in the number of local, state, and national organizations hopping on the bandwagon for 2020.

One digital platform noting this has been Suffrage Wagon News Channel, now in its 10th year of publication. Suffrage Wagon is a sister site of SuffrageCentennials.com

Women have been marching for their rights for over 100 years. And that’s what the Long Island Woman Suffrage Association is doing this year. They will be seen and heard. And news is coming in from all over the nation about the special events, celebrations, and programming scheduled for 2020, the 100th anniversary of women winning the rigfht to votes in the United States.

Join those who are being seen and heard during the Memorial Day weekend. And follow SuffrageCentennials.com

Suffrage centennials can creep up on anyone, even those following the topic. And wearing period dress is one way to deal with this challenge. I am looking for something simple, like a cape and a hat, because dressing in period costume can turn into a project. But between now and 2020, there’s a great deal to consider. Do a search online and many web sites with a period style theme pop up. Or you can make something yourself. I’ve seen some great outfits at women’s rights conferences.

The images posted here are from a web site called Recollections. I’m on their website newsletter list. Right now there’s a sale going on. My suffrage activist grandmother, Edna Buckman Kearns, would have dressed herself in clothes from the Eduardian period.

Period films seem to have a knack for modifying period dress and merging it with contemporary tastes. I have enough photos of suffrage activists over the 72-year period it took for women to win the right to vote to enroll in a community college class to adapt styles from the past. And there are historical patterns on the market too. Will I do it? That’s still to be seen.

Have fun with dressing up. The year 2020 will be the time to strut your stuff.

Follow SuffrageCentennials.com—your go-to place to satisfy your niche tastes and fantasies.

2020 WOMEN’S RIGHTS CENTENNIAL IS A NATIONAL FOCUS

Here’s one organization—2020Centennial.org—that’s taken the mission and gone all the way with it. The web site is publishing news on a regular basis. And it’s not alone. Back in 2013 when Marguerite Kearns and Olivia Twine took a blogging tour of the “Cradle” of the women’s rights movement in the United States (upstate New York in the Finger Lakes region), they couldn’t have imagined the interest and initiative that would be associated with planning and getting the word out.

YOU MAY BE A SUFFRAGE DESCENDANT AND NOT KNOW IT!

If you are a hidden votes for women activist descendant, you aren’t alone. Tens of thousands of women and their allies spent decades working for the right to vote from 1848 (and before) through 1920. They have descendants. And like you, and many others, we haven’t yet uncovered all of this part of our family history.

That you may be descended from the first wave of American voting rights activists shouldn’t be passed over lightly. Many families didn’t mention this association and organizing priority to their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and other descendants.

Are there interests you have and activities that you’ve not mentioned to friends and family members? Of course.

AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR NATION’S LEGACY…THE 2020 SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL!

Even if you can’t prove a direct family connection, the first wave of the women’s rights movement in the United States is an important and essential part of our national legacy and history…whether you’re a young person, woman, man, or wherever you find yourself on the gender continuum.

The chances are excellent that you are descended, either directly or by interest, to the tens of thousands of voting rights activists and their allies who worked and sweated for decades to win the right to vote during the first wave of the women’s rights movement. If you aren’t directly related, you may be a descendent in some other way—spiritual or because of your interests and concerns.

INCREASING NUMBERS OF PEOPLE INTERESTED IN 2020 SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL

There are many citizens who define themselves as first wave women’s rights descendants simply because they are passionate about this part of American history. By combining the accomplishments of all the waves of rights activists through today, we find ourselves standing on strong shoulders.

Our place in history will be celebrated during 2020. We want to make sure you’re part of this turning point in time. Some people call this coming year the celebration of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. It’s also known as the women’s vote centennial, the suffrage centennial 2020, and the votes for women centennial.

OUR MISSION IS SIMPLE—CELEBRATE THE 2020 CENTENNIAL!

Celebrate women’s freedom to vote during 2020. That’s why you’re being contacted now… we’ll be ready during 2020 to be heard, loud and clear.

SuffrageCentennials.com has been publishing since 2013.

Dear Friends,

You may be interested in the upcoming 2020 suffrage centennial where Americans will be celebrating the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. But there’s more to discover. You may be a votes for women, first wave women’s rights descendant, and not know it.

There are millions of us. Chances are—you haven’t yet uncovered your essential role in US history. During 2020, your job will be to celebrate this and put it into play by insisting on remembering the nation’s democratic roots.

YOU MAY BE A SUFFRAGE DESCENDANT AND NOT KNOW IT!

If you are a hidden descendant, you aren’t alone. Tens of thousands of women and their allies spent decades working for the right to vote from 1848 (and before) through 1920. They have descendants, and you, like many others, haven’t yet uncovered this part of your family history.

That you may be descended from the first wave of American voting rights activists shouldn’t be passed over lightly. Many families didn’t mention this association and organizing priority to their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and other descendants.

Are there interests you have and activities that you’ve not mentioned to friends and family members? Of course.

AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR NATION’S LEGACY…THE 2020 SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL!

Even if you can’t prove a direct family connection, the first wave of the women’s rights movement in the United States is an important and essential part of our national legacy and history…whether you’re a young person, woman, man, or wherever you find yourself on the gender continuum.

The chances are excellent that you are descended, either directly or by interest, to the tens of thousands of voting rights activists and their allies who worked and sweated for decades to win the right to vote during the first wave of the women’s rights movement. If you aren’t directly related, you may be a descendent in some other way—spiritual or because of your interests and concerns.

INCREASING NUMBERS OF PEOPLE INTERESTED IN 2020 SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL

There are many citizens who define themselves as first wave women’s rights descendants simply because they are passionate about this part of American history. By combining the accomplishments of all the waves of rights activists through today, we find ourselves standing on strong shoulders.

Our place in history will be celebrated during 2020, and we want to make sure you’re part of this turning point in time. Some people call this coming year the celebration of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. It’s also known as the women’s vote centennial, the suffrage centennial 2020, the votes for women centennial.

CELEBRATE WOMEN’S FREEDOM TO VOTE IN 2020

Celebrate women’s freedom to vote during 2020. That’s why you’re being contacted now. So we’ll be ready during 2020 to be heard, loud and clear.

All the best,

Marguerite Kearns

PS If you don’t know about this excellent book, Winning the Vote, here’s your chance to see a lush and elegant book that highlights the 72 years US women struggled to win the right to vote. Take a look and order.

Stay up to date with SuffrageCentennials.com. And visit our sister sites:

SuffrageWagon.org     LetsRockTheCradle.com   QuakerWomen.com

Planning for 2020 has manifested into an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. celebrating the centennial anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Titled “Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence,” it opens on March 29, 2019, and will be on view through January 5, 2020.

This history of women’s suffrage in the United States will be spread over seven rooms at the museum and display more than 120 portraits and objects spanning from 1832 to 1965. The range of topics includes “Radical Women: 1832–1869,” “Women Activists: 1870–1892,” “The New Woman: 1893–1912,” “Compelling Tactics: 1913–1916,” “Militancy in the American Suffragist Movement: 1917–1919” and “The Nineteenth Amendment and Its Legacy.”

The exhibition also includes early photographic portraits, paintings, engravings, works on paper, lithographs, video, newspapers, postcards, books, ballots, banners, fliers, a china set, embroidery, and pennants.

The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery is located at 8th St NW & F St NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Follow SuffrageCentennials.com

When preparing for the 2020 women’s vote centennial, don’t forget the work of graphic artist Meneese Wall who has created signed art prints and notecards to celebrate the upcoming 2020 centennial of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution. We’ve alerted you to this in the past, and this is a reminder that this collection is perfect for gifts and sales at your suffrage events and celebrations. For more information: meneese@meneesewall.com.

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