Tennessee needs a big celebration of the state’s role in women’s suffrage | Opinion
The centennial of women’s suffrage next summer ought to be a grand celebration. It was Tennessee’s legislature, in 1920, that became the pivotal 36th state to say “Yes” to the proposed 19th Amendment.
- Columnist Keel Hunt is the author of two books on Tennessee political history.
July is both a festive and reflective month, the mid-point of our year that offers both a chance for looking back and also ahead, a moment for memories and also high expectations.
With parties and pyrotechnics we celebrate our freedoms and our good nation in July. We can argue about our government, because the founders said we should.
Some July memories are sad. In our family, July was the month we lost our Dad (1967). It was another July – five years ago this week – that we lost John Seigenthaler (2014). He was my Dad’s friend and my revered editor in the old Tennessean newsroom.
I think of them both when I think about family and friends and freedom. But when I think in particular about voting I remember most the women in my family.
Seigenthaler placed great importance on the suffrage movement
Both my grandmothers were born in a time when women could not vote – could not exercise this essential act of citizenship that many now take for granted. America did not right this fundamental wrong until 1920, and Tennesseans played a pivotal part of the story. Suffrage for women was not given – it was fought for and won by courageous women.
Just weeks before Seigenthaler died, he told me he was working on a new book. It was to be a biography of the trailblazing suffragist Alice Stokes Paul. She was from New Jersey, not Tennessee, but helped to advance the national suffrage cause through her civil disobedience. That book was not completed before Seigenthaler’s death, yet the project was a measure of the importance he assigned to the suffrage movement.
The centennial of women’s suffrage next summer ought to be a grand celebration, and it ought to unfold in cities and towns statewide. Especially in Tennessee. It was Tennessee’s legislature, in 1920, that became the pivotal 36th state to say “Yes” to the proposed 19th Amendment.
What that amendment means now for all Americans is a vital story today for a dozen good reasons – from classrooms to the capitol – as Tennessee and the nation approach the centennial marker next year.
In August 2020, there should be a rising volume of celebration and civic memory, from Memphis to Mountain City, about exactly how it unfolded and the role Tennesseans played.
How the state is celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment
This week I learned about a number of plans now underway to take proper notice. Several state agencies are already engaged in the planning. A statewide planning committee was formed in 2016, and two public symposia have been held, in Knoxville and Memphis.
These discussions are being fostered by the Tennessee State Museum, Tennessee State Library and Archives, MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation, and the Tennessee Historical Society, among others.
Ann Toplovich, executive director at the Tennessee Historical Society, says the early planning has been organized around a three-part mantra – Involve, Inform, Inspire – and much public information is scheduled to roll out starting this August.
A special program is in development for Tennessee teachers to use in the 2019-20 school year. A large instructional exhibit at the new Tennessee State Museum, covering 8,000 square feet, is scheduled to open in March, and also a set of new traveling exhibits.
This week state Rep. Bob Freeman of Nashville suggested the 2020 centennial could be the time to install a statue of a woman at the capitol. (The Memphis editor Ida B. Wells, who crusaded against lynching, comes to mind.)
Local communities also are active. In Nashville, organizing activities are underway at an assortment of places, from the Nashville Public Library to the city’s arts institutions. The new statuary in Centennial Park, commemorating the suffrage fight, was recently unveiled. New exhibits are also in the works in Knoxville and other cities.
Five years ago my friend David Ewing, Nashville attorney and historian, spearheaded a campaign to re-name Capitol Boulevard downtown for Anne Dallas Dudley, one of the most important leaders in the national movement leading to ratification.
On Wednesday, Ewing, who is an eight-generation Nashvillian, told me the story of his ancestor, Mrs. Isabella Ewing. She was born into slavery here in 1856. After ratification of the 19th Amendment, she quickly secured her own voter registration card.
There is much yet to do ahead of August 2020. Aside from the formal planning processes, look into what your community can do and how you can help. Also be alert to important suffrage artifacts that may be in your family’s possession, like vintage photos or personal diaries.
Miranda Fraley Rhodes, director of curatorial planning at the state museum, told me yesterday: “It might be a good time to look in your attic.” If you have an item of interest, email her at collections@tnmuseum.org
Columnist Keel Hunt is the author of two books on Tennessee political history. Read more at www.KeelHunt.com.
Voting in Nashville
Early voting starts on Friday for the Aug. 1 election. Read profiles of the candidates, watch one-on-one interviews with countywide candidates and compare their answers to The Tennessean editorial board's questionnaire at elections.tennessean.com. Most of all be an informed citizen to make the best decision when you cast your ballot.
The editorial board will be coming out with recommendations and analysis on Sunday, July 21. For any questions on the process, email dplazas@tennessean.com.
— David Plazas, opinion and engagement director, The Tennessean and USA TODAY NETWORK Tennessee
