Suffragist Inez Milholland is a “shining star,” according to U.S. Representative Jackie Speier

Sign the petition urging U.S President Obama to award suffragist Inez Milholland with a Presidential Citizen’s Medal.

In a letter where U.S. Representative Jackie Speier nominated suffrage activist Inez Milholland for the Presidential Citizens Medal, America’s suffrage martyr was described as “…a shining star in the pantheon of inspiring leaders of the women’s suffrage movement in the early 20th century.”

During the 2016 election  year, Milholland will be honored. It’s the centennial year of Milholland’s death. And during 2017, Milholland will also receive her share of recognition during the centennial observance of New York State’s suffrage centennial when New York women will have been voting for 100 years.

U.S. Representative Speier described Milholland’s sacrifice in her letter to U.S. President Obama:

“Inez Milholland continued working tirelessly for the women’s suffrage movement for several years when she embarked –against medical advice because of a medical condition– on a grueling five week, eleven state tour of the western United States. At one of the stops…while speaking at a rally advocating for the constitutional amendment for universal suffrage, she suddenly collapsed. Her last public words were ‘Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty’? She never recovered and died in a hospital some weeks later at age 30 in 1916. Suffragists at that time termed her a ‘martyr’ for women’s suffrage. She was given a martyr’s remembrance on Christmas Day, attended by over a thousand people under the rotunda at Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol –the first woman to be honored in this way.”

U.S. Representative Speier concluded: “As the centennial of her death and of the 19th Amendment approach, I can think of no better way to honor her memory than with this long overdue award. Therefore, I am proud to submit the name of Inez Milholland as a nominee for the Presidential Citizen’s Medal.”

The Inez Milholland Centennial observance is a special project of the National Women’s History Project. Marguerite Kearns and Robert P.J. Cooney Jr. are cochairs of this national initiative. Visit the web site for more information. Become a partner. SuffrageCentennials.com is a partner in the Inez Milholland centennial observance.

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