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A Non-Whitewashed History of the 19th Amendment and Women’s Right to Vote
On the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, we celebrate the women of color who history forgot
On August 18, 1920, Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment — granting women the right to vote under federal law. The year 2020 marks 100 years since this milestone in feminist history.
We most often glorify key suffragist figures and events that supposedly ushered in a new era of women’s rights to the United States: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and the Seneca Falls Convention. We laud these women for giving all women a voice in their government and taking an important first step in the fight for women’s rights.
This story, however, presents an incomplete narrative. The 19th Amendment did not grant the right to vote for millions of Black, Native American, and Asian American women.
To celebrate the centennial as a liberation for all women would be a disservice to the women of color who were often shunned and discounted by the leaders of the women’s suffrage movement. The campaign to grant all women voting rights is a much more prolonged and arduous crusade.
The heroism of the Black, Asian American, Latina, and Native…
