This week offers a wonderful opportunity to celebrate history and learn something new.
Montgomery County Commission for Women and Montgomery County Public Libraries are each holding virtual celebrations of the passage of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote.
An amendment must be proposed by a 2/3rds vote in each house of congress and then ratified by 3/4ths of the state legislatures to become law. The 19th Amendment was ratified 100 years ago on Aug. 8, 1920 when Tennessee became the 36th state to approve the amendment.
Wyoming was the first state to grant voting rights to women, doing so in 1869 while it was still a territory. When Wyoming joined the Union in 1870, it preserved women’s suffrage according to History.com.
Maryland was late to the game, not ratifying the 19th amendment until 1941. The state rejected it on Feb. 24, 1920.
To read more about the history of the suffrage movement in Maryland, visit https://www.nps.gov/articles/maryland-and-the-19th-amendment.htm.
Following are events happening in Montgomery County celebrating women’s right to vote.
- The Montgomery County Commission for Women (CFW) will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in the United States with a virtual event at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19. The event will feature Robyn Muncy, Ph.D., author, guest curator of the National Archives exhibit, “Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote” and Professor of History at the University of Maryland. Dr. Muncy will be joined by Dr. DeRionne Pollard, president of Montgomery College.
This virtual event is targeted to all ages. All members of the public are invited to learn more about previous suffrage efforts, and the role of civic activists in enlisting women’s participation in voting. Youth are highly encouraged to join and participate in this educational event.
For more information, email Jodi Finkelstein, CFW Executive Director at jodi.finkelstein@mongtomerycountymd.gov or 240-777-8333.
- Montgomery County Public Libraries will host a virtual conversation celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Right to Vote from 7-9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 22.
“The program will provide presentations from scholar and University Archivist at Morgan State University, Dr. Ida E. Jones, author of several African American biographies, including “Mary McLeod Bethune, True Democracy and the Fight for Universal Suffrage,” and from journalist and Curator of Programming for Planet Word Museum, Rebecca Boggs Roberts, author of “Suffragist in Washington, D.C. – The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote.” The event is co-sponsored by Friends of the Library, Montgomery County, Inc.
To register, visit https://mcpl.libnet.info/event/4496065.