By J. J. Prats, May 19, 2007
90 years ago today, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote. My column in yesterday’s paper covered a bit of Virginia’s role in the struggle.
Today, I head to Ft. Story to give a speech for Women’s Equality Day, which is what 8/26 has become known. I will be discussing Lucy Burns and Alice Paul, two of the many heroes of the suffragist movement. Both women were at various times imprisoned at the Occoquan Workhouse.
I think we sometimes forget what those who came before us had to endure to secure the rights that we take for granted. On this day, I hope we can all take a minute to acknowledge the hard work of the women -and men – of the suffragist movement.
Thank you for such an informative article in the VP yesterday. As a student of history and political science in college( back in the “dark ages”) this event was not mentioned when the suffrage movement was studied and discussed. I am sorry I can’t attend your talk at Fort Story today as I am sure it will be very enlightening. But alas, I must make a living.
Posted by Rediford New | Thursday, August 26, 2010, 10:08 am