Women's Suffrage Movement

The song "Ella's Song" is dedicated to Ella Baker, a strong supporter of young people's involvement in the civil rights movement.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of fighting for freedom and not resting until it is achieved: "We believe in freedom, cannot rest. We who believe in freedom cannot rest until it comes."

Professor Merrill from the Department of Writing Studies and Rhetoric introduces the topic of women's suffrage, particularly focusing on women of color.
The conventional narrative of the suffrage movement often overlooks the contributions and organizing efforts of women of color.
Fanny Lou Hamer is highlighted as an important activist who experienced violence while trying to vote.

The legal right to vote for women in the United States was established in 1920.
However, the fight for women's suffrage began much earlier, over a century prior.
Key figures in the movement include Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Ida B. Wells Barnett, Fanny Lou Hamer, Pvita Louisa Capatillo, and Frederick Douglass.

There was significant opposition to women's suffrage, as seen in political cartoons that ridiculed women advocating for the right to vote and men who supported them.
Misogyny played a role in the resistance, with stereotypes portraying women who sought the vote as "man-tamers" and questioning traditional gender roles.

The US women's suffrage movement can be traced back to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London in 1840.
American women activists were initially barred from participating fully in the convention.
Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton met at the convention and resolved to organize a women's rights convention.

In 1848, the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women's rights convention, took place in Seneca Falls, New York.
Frederick Douglass, a self-liberated person and prominent speaker and writer, attended the convention and wrote about it in his newspaper, The North Star.
Douglass's account is a crucial source of information about the events at Seneca Falls.

In 1866, Frederick Douglass, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B. Anthony founded the American Equal Rights Association, advocating for universal suffrage for all men and women, regardless of race.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, a poet, novelist, abolitionist, suffragist, educator, and political activist, spoke at the 11th National Women's Rights Convention in New York City in 1866.
She urged the American Equal Rights Association to address racial prejudice alongside gender inequality.
The organization eventually split due to disagreements over the 15th Amendment, which granted black men the right to vote.

In 1872, Susan B. Anthony voted in Rochester, New York, despite it being illegal for women to vote, and was arrested.
She delivered a powerful speech arguing that women, as citizens, should have the right to vote, challenging the notion of a government that denies liberty to half of its population.

Sarah Smith Tompkins Garnett founded the Equal Suffrage League in the late 1880s, the first organization dedicated to black women's suffrage.
She was also the first black female principal in New York City and advocated for women's suffrage at a national level.
Garnett believed that the fight for suffrage was inseparable from the struggle for racial equality.

Mary Church Terrell became the first president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in 1896.
Terrell argued that voting rights for black women were inseparable from the broader struggle for civil rights for all black people.
The NACW, comprised of over 200 black women's clubs, adopted the motto "lifting as we climb."

Ida B. Wells Barnett, primarily known as a journalist and anti-lynching activist, was also a dedicated suffrage activist.
In 1913, she founded the Alpha Suffrage Club in Chicago, the first African-American suffrage organization in the city.
Wells Barnett participated in the 1913 women's rights parade in Washington, D.C., refusing to march separately at the back.

Alice Dunbar Nelson, the widow of poet Paul Dunbar, was a suffrage activist whose speeches and activities were documented in local newspapers.
Her scrapbook provided valuable insights into the organizing efforts of black women in the suffrage movement.

Louisa Capatillo, born in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was a union activist who believed in the connection between the class struggle and women's suffrage struggles.
She advocated for women's rights to equal rights connected with the fight for workers' rights.
Hilda, born in Laredo, Texas, came from an activist family and supported women's suffrage through journalism and political activism.

The 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, was ratified in 1920.
However, women of color, including those in Puerto Rico, continued to face disenfranchisement.
In Puerto Rico, women gained access to the ballot in stages, with universal suffrage not achieved until 1935.

Fanny Lou Hamer was a powerful activist who fought against voter suppression and civil rights struggles.
She was a leader of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and faced violence and arrest for attempting to register to vote.
Hamer's testimony before the credentials committee highlighted the challenges and brutality faced by black people in their pursuit of voting rights.

Paulie Murray was a lawyer, activist, professor, and Episcopal priest who fought against racial and gender discrimination.
She was arrested for refusing to comply with Jim Crow bus laws and led lunch counter sit-in protests.
In 1938, Murray wrote a letter to Franklin Roosevelt about racial discrimination she faced.
Murray was the co-founder of the National Organization for Women and a friend of Eleanor Roosevelt.

The SAVE bill, currently debated in Congress, could require American citizens to present documentary proof of citizenship in person when registering to vote or updating registration information.
This bill could create barriers for people who lack passports or birth certificates or whose names do not match their documents.

The struggle for voting rights continues, and it is essential to learn from the ancestors who fought for justice and equality.
Organizing and activism are crucial for ensuring that progress is possible and that the voices of all people are heard.

This note covers the struggle for women's suffrage, emphasizing the often-overlooked contributions of women of color.
Key figures like Fanny Lou Hamer, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Ida B. Wells Barnett are highlighted for their activism and fight against racial and gender inequality.
The note also addresses the limitations of the 19th Amendment and ongoing voter suppression efforts, underscoring the continued importance of organizing and activism.