For some women, the centennial of the 19th Amendment granting suffrage to women is a moment for celebration, but for countless other women it serves as a reminder of the race-based exclusion that tainted much of the suffrage movement and its representation in history books. The contributions and legacies of Black women in the suffrage movement have been overshadowed by their white counterparts throughout academia.
But now more scholars are shining a light on the voices of Black women and other women of color who fought for suffrage while also fighting the very oppression and racism that ultimately separated them from white suffragists.
The National American Woman Suffrage Association, founded in 1890, prevented Black women from attending their conventions. Black women often had to march separately from white women in suffrage parades. And when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony wrote the History of Woman Suffrage in the 1880s, they centered white stories, largely ignoring the contributions of Black women. Honoring Black suffragists means first acknowledging how they were sidelined from the mainstream suffrage movement, whose leaders feared alienating white women and losing support in the South. That exclusion spurred the formation of separate organizations such as the National Association of Colored Women, founded in 1896.
Like many movements throughout history, the cost of achieving the ultimate goal of obtaining the vote came with casualties, which included leaving out the needs of Black women. When the 19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920, Americans were fully aware that Black women would remain largely disenfranchised. The amendment did not address barriers such as the poll tax and literacy tests, barriers that would remain for an additional 45 years until the passing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
This September, in conjunction with the exhibit Beyond the Ballot: St. Louis and Suffrage, the Missouri Historical Society will offer a trio of virtual programs that present an inclusive look at women’s suffrage and the role that Black women and other women of color played in that story.
On Wednesday, September 9, at 7 p.m., Sally Roesch Wagner, a co-founder of one of the first women’s studies programs in the US, will discuss her 2019 book The Women’s Suffrage Movement. This compendium of historical texts spans more than two centuries and reveals a more complex and intersectional picture of the suffrage movement. It includes the speeches and writings of women who have frequently been ignored in the popular narrative, from the Native American women who inspired early suffragists to Black suffragists such as Ida B. Wells and the Forten sisters. Wagner will discuss the history of the suffrage movement and how she researched her book, which is available for purchase through the Missouri History Museum Shop.
On Sunday, September 13, at 7 p.m., Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins will speak about her recently published book, The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters. This book shifts the stories of Black suffragists from the margins to the center, celebrating the contributions of well-known women like Sojourner Truth as well as women whose stories have been less recognized, such as Delilah Beasley and Dr. Josie Johnson.
Jefferson-Jenkins was elected the first African American president of the national League of Women Voters in 1994, leading more than 120,000 members across all 50 states. She led the 1996 “Get Out the Vote” campaign, which registered more than 50,000 new voters, and spearheaded the 1998 Wired for Democracy program, an early attempt to engage citizens online. Jefferson-Jenkin’s program is presented in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Metro St. Louis.
On Monday, September 14, at 7 p.m., Wayne State University professor Liette Gidlow will present Suffrage at 100: Women’s Rights, Civil Rights, and Voting Rights from 1920 to COVID-19. Gidlow will explore the long history of the 19th Amendment, its connections to voting-rights struggles of the 1960s, and concerns about voting rights today. This program is the 2020 James Neal Primm Lecture in History, part of an annual series presented with the University of Missouri–St. Louis.
To join these virtual programs on Zoom, visit the events calendar at mohistory.org or the Missouri History Museum Facebook page. “Beyond the Ballot: St. Louis and Suffrage” is open now through March 2022. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday with free advance registrations. Visit mohistory.org to plan your visit.