Today in Feminist History
On August 26th, 1920 the 19th Amendment went into effect. It gave women the right to vote in the United States. Via InfoPlease
This is why today is also marked the annual Women's Equality Day, started in 1971 by Bella Abzug.
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Today in Feminist History.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/15675
With Ted Kennedy's passing, I almost forgot about today! Thanks for the reminder!
Happy Women's Equality Day, and thanks to each feminist for the work you do! Ya'll rock!
It's so essential to remember our history - at least Bella Abzug thought so (she's the one who got today declared Women's Equality Day). We marked it with some thoughts from Linda Meric of 9 to 5, from Colonel Deborah Gray of Fort McPherson, and some video of Hilary Swank as Alice Paul, being force-fed during a hunger strike.
I really like this feature. ^_^
Today I will watch "Iron Jawed Angels" in honor of the brave ladies who fought to have our rights recognized. I think everyone should remember we've only had this right for less than a century - less than a third of the history of this country.
Thank goodness Harry Burn was such a mama's boy, and that at least one of Woodrow Wilson's good intentions actually worked out right.
It's hard for me to put my love, respect, and admiration for these women into words.
So I'll link to a silly webcomic instead.
I learned about Women's Equality Day last year through an event at my college. A woman came dressed and acted as a less famous sufferagist. I currently forget the name of the woman that was impresonated but I'll come back when I remember.
Once again monolithic woman rules. I love the way that 'woman' does not include women of color. How many First Nations, Latin@, Black and Asian women do you think were voting then. Think hard before you answer. Not all women have can celebrate this day.
15th Amendment came before 19th Amendment.
Yes the 15th was the third of what are known as the reconstruction amendments. Now I ask you again why is it that African Americans had to have a civil rights movement in which they fought for the right to vote? This is because it may have been law but it certainly was not the practice. So s'cuse the hell out me if I ask why the hell women of color are celebrating again? Your turn to look up Plessy Vs Ferguson in which segregation became the law of the land in addition to wiping out the civil rights act of 1875. Amazing what rights can be lost under Jim Crow.
When women couldn't vote, women who weren't white couldn't vote. Also, you don't have to say latin@ for women, just latina, because you're only talking about women.
Pretty much.
The fact that the 15th Amendment wasn't being enforced was because people weren't obeying the laws, not because the laws weren't respecting the people. Plessy v. Ferguson did not overturn the 15th Amendment, even if it gave Jim Crow a big loophole to work within, just like gun control laws don't overturn the 2nd Amendment.
Women who fought for the right to vote were not doing so because they wanted to prevent people from voting. They were doing it to expand rights, not restrict them.
If you don't want to celebrate Women's Equality Day, that's entirely your business, but it doesn't diminish what these women did for us. Women were arrested, beaten, and even died so that we could get the right to vote.
The 15th Amendment wasn't enforced from the 1870's until the 1960's.
I'm sure Renee appreciates the help counting.
There's also International Women's Day, CEDAW, IVAWA and many other legislation/days to celebrate/help women of color and those not a part of America's feminism.
It's fine to criticize a movement that excludes many women - but you know what, at least acknowlege the hard work of the women who came before us. If not for them, we wouldn't be having what we're having right now.
What a token right this turned out to be…
Oh,and fuck the people who got arrested, died, gave up their careers, and sacrificed themselves, and everyone else who was at Seneca Falls, right?
After all, they didn't give women choices, they didn't give women any rights, choices or anything else. All they did was given women the righs to vote. Fuck them.
Stay classy ...and educated.
Women make up more than half of voters. That's quite a token.
*Herstory.
;)