In a Virginia prison, a fight for equality

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.

One thought on “In a Virginia prison, a fight for equality

  1. 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.

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