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Women’s Suffrage Centennial Celebration
by Lauren Caggiano
At first glance you might take the statement at face-value. However, there’s much more to the story. Access to the voting booth is just one element of being an equal part of the democratic process. A few community members are exploring that theme, and others, with a series of events planned for later this month.
The group Chautauqua-Wawasee in Syracuse is leading the charge. The nonprofit organization provides cultural enrichment and entertainment through programs focused on the Arts, Education, Faith, and Recreation. Syracuse has designated the week of August 2329 as “Women’s Suffrage Centennial Celebration” with Chautauqua-Wawasee putting on a number of events, teaming with the Syracuse-Wawasee Historical Museum, Syracuse Public Library, Syracuse-Wawasee Chamber, and Indiana Humanities. The programming is slated to kick-off August 26, and continue with events on August 29 and September 5.
The Kosciusko County events represent one piece of the puzzle. Starting in 2020, and now extending into 2021, the Women’s Suffrage Centennial is being celebrated throughout Indiana and America. According to the event organizers, these suffragettes represent an important chapter in American politics and history, and should be revered as such.
“These women are leaders whose names every school child should know,” said Beth Beams, program director for the Women Suffrage Centennial Celebration. “Little girls can look up to them as role models. Their sacrifice and the risk they faced changed the world for all of us. They are heroes!”
For example, these trailblazers contributed to our society in multiple ways. They were changemakers in the areas of law, medicine, education, and labor rights. In her words, “beginning in 1848 with the Seneca Falls Woman’s Rights Convention, their leadership, organizing, and brilliance would be lauded for positive change in today’s world.”
Mark Knecht, Chautauqua-Wawasee’s president, agrees and reminds us that we owe these women a debt of gratitude, even 100 years later.
“It’s hard to believe that the women had to fight so hard for so long for passage of the 19th Amendment,” Knecht said, “and it’s sad that so many of those early suffragists didn’t live long enough to celebrate their victory.”
Even more poignant is the fact that their pursuit, though ultimately successful, was decades long. “The right to vote for women was first submitted to Congress in 1878, yet didn’t become law until August 26, 1920—42 years later,” Knecht said.
Yet, a century later, women, men, and children are invited to take part in the celebration and honor these activists posthumously. A schedule of events and details will be available on the Chautauqua-Wawasee website (www.CHQW.org) or via Facebook www.facebook.com/ChautauquaWawasee.
One fateful day 100 years ago, in August 1920, a momentous day went down in history books for the advancement of women in the United States. The final ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution on August 26, 1920 meant Hoosier women finally won the right to vote.
