to 3 o’clock,” Shelton said. “We’ll have said. “It’s just important to understand speakers representing all of these different that. And it’s also, I think, important for issues from voting rights to the environment people to understand that these rights to gun safety. They’ll be speaking as well weren’t given to us. Somebody wasn’t just as candidates. The presidential candidates magnanimous one day and said, ‘Hey, we will all have proxies. We’ve got four for should just let women vote. Why didn’t Congress. … We have [Reno] City Council, we ever think of this before?’ Instead, they Sparks City Council.” really worked to keep us from voting— Since this year’s event will be taking and, even today, it’s a common fight. place at the Reno Events Center, there People get disfranchised and taken will be additional security, and off of voter rolls arbitrarily a lot marchers will be prohibited of times. And it’s to suppress “It can be from bringing in certain the vote, and that’s not very easy to just items, like any sticks OK. That’s not American. attached to their signs, That’s not what we were put your head under water bottles, food and raised as Americans the covers and be sad dogs—except service to believe happens or about the state of the world. animals. (There will, should happen.” however, be a water They are, of course, But there are actual things bottle and sign valet correct about the 19th you can do.” at the entrance.) In Amendment. an effort to focus on When it was ratified on Jackie Shelton diversity and inclusion, Aug. 26, 1920, there were Women’s March Organizer Shelton said, organizers have a fair number of American worked to ensure that volunteer women whose status wasn’t marshals and hired security for the really changed. Aside from the event includes people of different genders women who lived in states where voting and races. There will also be a gender-neutral rights had been granted them prior to ratifibathroom designated at the events center. cation of the federal amendment, there were Native Americans and Asian immigrants— men and women—who were denied citizenSUFFRAGE CELEBRATION ship. In the South, black people continued As 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of to be subject to voter-suppression laws and the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the vigilante tactics. march will also be part celebration of the Nonetheless, the amendment did allow occasion and will feature additional women for the registration of millions of new speakers giving spoken word performances. woman voters. The League of Women Voters “We’ll have eight to 10 women who are was borne of the National American Woman each speaking,” Shelton said. “Some are Suffrage Association. And women voters’ doing a Chautauqua-style, like, representing perspectives began influencing the national the women’s suffrage movement. We have agenda on everything from labor reform to one who’s a veteran, so she’s talking about child welfare. women in the military; one who’s an athlete, And, of course, ratification of the 19th so she’s talking about sports before Title IX. Amendment eventually led to the present era We have a transgender woman represented, a in which Nevada’s Legislature became the refugee and then a young woman [speaking first in the nation with a female majority. It’s as a future voter].” one with a long list of legislative successes For Shelton and fellow organizer Daela under its belt from the 2019 session, to Gibson, who works as director of public include a new gun background check law, affairs for Planned Parenthood Marmonte, new renewable energy requirements, a the hope is that the march will also serve as minimum wage increase, protections for a chance to remind people that ratification abortion, incorporation into state law of of the 19th Amendment was not a magic provisions of the Affordable Care Act, voter bullet to solve women’s inequality—or even rights protections and collective bargaining suffrage for all women. for state workers. “I’ve been a big fan of diversity That’s all in addition to new laws that forever, but I’m constantly reminded add permanent funding for rape kit testwhy it’s important … like the 19th ing at the state level, increase the state’s Amendment,” Shelton said. “You know, I domestic violence penalties and remove the said that to somebody. I said, ‘Yeah, the requirement for a doctor to ask a woman if 19th Amendment gave women the right she’s married before she’s given access to to vote.’ And I had an African American an abortion. Ω woman say to me, ‘Well, white women.’ And I went, ‘Oh, right. Right.’” “While the 19th Amendment helped secure the vote for disenfranchised white Learn more about the 2020 Reno Women’s March by visiting women, it didn’t help everybody,” Gibson womensmarchreno.org.
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