League of Women Voters Centennial
Centennial Events
Ways to Celebrate in August
On August 18, 1920 the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, giving most women the right to vote. We have been celebrating the LWV Centennial most of the year. This was a huge success for people who worked so hard for Suffrage. But this was not perfect as it did not give black or indigenous women the right to vote. It gave the League work to be done. And there is still work to be done moving forward - making democracy work for all and working to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In honor of this history and future, you may be interested in:
- ‘This Is Not a Boring History of Nagging Spinsters’
- 100 Years Later, These Activists Continue Their Ancestors’ Work
- The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine F. Weiss
- The 19th Represents, presented by Goldman Sachs and Intuit, a week of virtual events that raises the voices of women — past and present — who are reshaping the American story. You can watch livestream all of the speakers here. August 26 is Women’s Equality Day. There are many virtual events commemorating and celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment:
- The National Women’s History Museum will celebrate with a full day of free programming and the launch of its new non-partisan voter engagement initiative, Women Vote, Women Win. Programming includes two virtual “Determined to Rise” panels, several film screenings, and a concert and rally to increase votes by and for women before the November election. womenshistory.org/august-26
- Michelle Witte, Executive Director, LWVMN, will be hosting a virtual book launch with Joan Growe and Lori Sturdevant, authors of the book Turnout: Making Minnesota the State That Votes. Joan Growe was Minnesota’s Secretary of State from 1975-1999 and speaks very highly of her time in LWV in the book. Lori Sturdevant is a retired editorial writer for the Star Tribune. The book launch can be seen from 7:00-7:45pm, August 26 on the Minnesota Historical Society Facebook Page.
- Face the Music 4ERA is a virtual music concert featuring an amazing line-up of artists and speakers from across the country celebrating how far the ERA has come and laying out concrete next steps to get the job done!