Today marks the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment which gave American women the right to vote, and while that’s certainly something to be celebrated, there’s a part of the suffragette movement that tends to be overlooked. I’m talking about the disenfranchisement of women of color by the movement and some of its most prominent leaders. Despite their steadfast support for the cause, Black American women’s voting rights weren’t secured until the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed. Equally infuriating, Native Americans weren’t given the right to vote in every state until 1962. With this in mind I’d like pay tribute to the women who toiled to make voting a right for everyone, something that so many of us take for granted today, despite the widespread voter suppression that still takes place in many states.
If white American women, with all their natural and acquired advantages need the ballot, that right protective of all other rights; if Anglo Saxons have been helped by it…how much more do black Americans, male and female need the strong defense of a vote to help secure them their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?