August 18
“I think it’s a very important message and there’s a lot that women have been through in the past century and there’s still a lot to achieve, but you know, there’s always these big steps that makes a lot of changes in society and we should always keep going forward.”
—Writing on the Walls Artist Sandra Chevrier
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified 100 years ago Today, on August 18, 1920, giving women in the US the right to vote. Celebrate with some brief history, learn how it impacts women today, and what work still needs to be done.
COLLECTIONS
How Women Won the Vote: A 19th Amendment Reading List
Just 100 years ago, on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, enshrining women’s right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. While women’s suffrage was hard-won, the battle for the ballot would continue for decades, especially for Black and Indigenous women. This collection from Pocket Collection explores the history and impact of that century-old victory and the complicated legacy that still informs today.
Austin Treasures: Jane McCallum and the Suffrage Movement
The Austin History Center holds the papers of Jane Y McCallum, a prominent pro-suffrage activist. The guide to the collection has been recently updated to better describe the materials related to Minnie Fisher Cunningham, McCallum’s friend and sister-in-arms in the battle for the vote!
The collection consists of correspondence, printed materials, legal and financial documents, genealogical information, periodicals, creative works, diaries, press releases, posters, and photographs documenting the woman’s suffrage movement, Jane McCallum’s personal life and career after suffrage, and Minnie Fisher Cunningham’s activities after suffrage. See the finding aid here: Jane Y. McCallum Papers | An Inventory of the Collection
SUFFRAGE NOW: A 19th Amendment Centennial Exhibition at the Elisabet Ney Museum
In this exhibit at the Elisabet Ney Museum, women photographers nationwide were invited via a juried open call to share photos that comment on this historic occasion, imperfect though it may be. The Elisabet Ney Museum is a uniquely qualified venue to host such an exhibition, as its namesake was a firebrand artist and activist who fought bravely for Democracy and Women’s Suffrage in Europe and America but did not live to see it secured.
ATX Celebrates Women’s Suffrage Centennial
Inspiring the Central Texas community to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment with numerous entries about the movement in general, the women involved, the opposition, and the impact of racism.
MULTI-PLATFORM
How Austin Is Marking the Centennial of Women Winning the Vote (Austin Chronicle)
In 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, and in 2020, that victory is being celebrated locally in various ways. Here’s how
When we celebrate 100 years of women having the right to vote, what’s been left out of that story? What is left to be done? These are the questions this episode digs into with sheroes from Rosa Rebellion, Meagan Harding and Virginia Cumberbatch, and democracy gurus Alice Yi and Dyana Limon-Mercado. Get informed with a quiz on women’s suffrage, get inspired by brilliant panelists, and then get to work.
VISIT
Visit Writing on the Walls Murals!
- “The Beauty of Liberty and Equality” by Sandra Chevrier and Shepard Fairey at 4th and Congress
- “It’s Okay Not to Be Okay” by Sadé Lawson at 4th and Lamar
Learn more about the Mural commemorating Women’s Suffrage
Created as part of the Downtown Austin Alliance Foundation’s Writing on the Walls Series celebrating art, diversity, and public spaces in our community. At the inaugural event in March 2020, local, national, and international artists simultaneously created two new landmarks in downtown Austin.
New Monumental Murals in Austin Commemorate Women’s Suffrage (Spectrum News)
