To the editor:

Wednesday, August 26th is Women’s Equality Day, marking the adoption of the19th Amendment to the US Constitution which granted women the right to vote. This hard won right was made possible through the unwavering, courageous efforts of giants like Carrie Chapman Catt, Alice Paul, Sojourner Truth and Susan B. Anthony. The official launch of this effort is tied to the nation’s first Women’s Rights Convention held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, NY but had been underway for decades before. The struggle was marked by women’s unceasing work with legislatures and Congress, peaceful protests, violence against women suffragists, and forced feedings of those who chose to fast as a way of protesting their unconstitutional incarceration. The swell of grassroots support, led by women, resulted in the U.S. Senate passage the 19th amendment in 1919, and its ratification over the next year by 36 states. This paved the way for women to serve in elective leadership in our communities, our statehouses, and in the U.S. House and Senate.

The New Ulm League of Women Voters will be marching to commemorate Women’s Equality Day, the adoption of the 19th amendment and to shine a spotlight on the ongoing work to ensure voting rights for all.

While it took so much to achieve the right to vote, ratification of the 19th amendment benefited white women. Native American people were not given the right to vote until 1924, with the passage of the Snyder Act. African American women and other women of color, some of whom were part of the women’s suffrage movement, were left behind. They were blocked from casting ballots because of poll taxes, literacy tests, laws that prevented grandchildren of enslaved people from voting, Jim Crow laws, violence and intimidation. Finally, the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ensured this basic right to all.

But our work to ensure the right to vote for all people is far from over. The Voting Rights Act has been weakened by the Supreme Court. Voter suppression bills – measures to make it harder for people to register to vote and cast their ballot – are introduced and sometimes passed in legislatures around the United States. Some Minnesota legislators introduce bills that make it harder to register and vote, though these have thankfully been defeated. Barriers to voting by mail, an important, safe voting option, especially during this pandemic, continue to pop up.

As we commemorate women’s right to vote, we celebrate the work of women who have gone before us, acknowledge that this right was denied to women of color for decades after, and commit to do our part to stand up for voter rights for all.

Theresa Keaveny

New Ulm League of

Women Voters

Action Chairperson