The picture above (who I am unsure of who posted it) shows just how many women came together during the suffrage movement. Many different women of color from all walks of life all fighting the same fight. A fight for their own rights. All the women who did come together during the suffrage movement had one common goal in mind and that was to have the right to vote. While the movement began with white women and women of color protesting side by side the issue of race came soon after. With the civil war at its height race became a bigger issue only causing the suffrage movement to take a back burner to a much bigger fight happening.

While watching the video “Untold Stories of Black Women in the suffrage movement” by the KD Hall Foundation I learned about Ida B wells a journalist and one of the many leaders of the civil rights movement. As well as a founder of the National Association Advancement of Colored People or the NAACP, many say she is one of the most famous black women of history. It began in 1981 where Wells launches her national wide anti-lynching campaign after the murder of three of her friends in Memphis, Tennessee. (One hundred years towards Sufferage: An Overview by E. Susan Barber) Wells exposed just how primitive and horrific lynching could be and it was used to intimidate and oppress African American men.

Someone’s snapshot post that really stood out for me was Junie Vallon’s snapshot post. I think Junie’s post really stood out because we talked or learned about women’s suffrage, which is the right for women to vote in any election. In the snapshot, there are women, specifically white women standing up for their state of being free from authoritative restrictions such as the president. The poster the woman is holding says, “Mr. President, How long must women wait for liberty?” For me, women’s suffrage should include every aspect of women, whether white, African American, Native American, Asian, or Latino, yet this image gives a false narrative. It promotes just white women fighting for their rights to end their feeling of inferiority, and what about the people of color? It is like white women advocate for themselves to vote while others have to do the same for their own skin complexion. It questions the idea of why women’s suffrage wasn’t universal.

It’s important to be able to promote women’s suffrage, including everyone. Association and organizations for women’s suffrage should be continuously dedicated to women of any skin complexion, for white and black women. It goes back to the idea of privilege. I’m not saying white women don’t have it hard compared to women of color. Still, women of color suffered more because of racism, apart from their education and economic status. Women of color should be able to support women of color and white women and vice versa. Women and men should support women, isn’t that the idea of being a feminist.

A piece of evidence that supports my idea in the paragraph above is from the text “One Hundred Years Towards Suffrage: An Overview.” According to the text “Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony formed the American Equal Rights Association, an organization for white and black women and men dedicated to the goal of universal suffrage.” Of course, these two women were part of painting the path towards the 19th amendment, but they stood for universal suffrage. Even though the 15th amendment allowed men of all races to vote, it still presented some form of hostility or some form of resistance because of education. African Americans were held as slaves until 1865-1870. These men had the lower end of the stick when it came to the idea of voting because of certain tactics that prevented men from still voting.

There was still a continuous fight for voting rights even after the nineteenth amendment was ratified. There was still continuous development that needed to be made to get resources for everyone, especially the colored communities. Whether a black woman coming into politics or a white woman, they should be approached as an “us,” not breaking apart every skin complexion. Being able to be consistent with the power of bringing in and supporting different cultural and ethnic groups. It is important to redirect different areas of problems just not for one group but multiple groups. It should be universal.

The right of women to vote in elections is known as women’s suffrage. Women attempted to modify voting rules to allow females to vote beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, in addition to their work for broad-based economic and political equality and social changes. The woman’s suffrage campaign was significant because it culminated in the adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gave women the right to vote for the first time. 

A snapshot that stood out to me was Alison’s, as seen in the image was a group of white women photographed protesting for women’s suffrage.

However, though they are fighting for women’s rights, we do not see any black women nor any people of color in the photograph. The group holds placards that refer to both the amendment and suffrage, both of which exclusively apply to white women.

When I was reading through the One Hundred Years Toward Suffrage: An Overview (A timeline), I came across a section on Ida B. Wells and what she did for the movement, especially for black women and the black community as a whole. 

That’s when I realized that individuals of color were unable to participate in the movement which Ida fought for. She chose to contribute to the movement because wanted to advance the cause of black equality and black power. 

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a well-known journalist, activist, and researcher. Throughout her life, she confronted sexism, racism, and brutality. Wells-Barnett, a brilliant writer, also utilized her journalistic abilities to bring attention to the circumstances of African Americans throughout the South. To name a few of her numerous accomplishments, Wells founded the first black kindergarten, organized black women, and helped elect the city’s first black councilman. I believe she felt it necessary to fight for black women and people of color because no one else would.

During the women suffrage movement there was unfair rights between both male and female. Basically both genders didn’t have equal rights which I feel like it’s not fair because they both should have the same rights. Another thing I wanted to point out is that they didn’t have the right to vote and it affect them in many ways. This tells us that it was affecting society because of the decisions that were being made when this was happen. One hundred Years toward Suffrage: An Overview listed a timeline form the years 1776 through 1923. One of year’s that stood out to me was in the year 1844 because to me it telling me that women were willing to get what they wanted. In ‘One hundred Years toward Suffrage: An Overview’ states that “Female textile workers in Massachusetts organize the Lowell Female Labor Reform Association (LFLRA) and demand a 10-hour workday. This was one of the first permanent labor associations for working women in the United States”. Further more this also tells me that during that time these women didn’t just sit back and expect a change to happen instead they spoke up for themselves and got what they wanted. While I was watching the video Susan B Anthony was mention and she is a women who joined women’s suffrage movement in the 1900’s I believe. The women suffrage movement really was about fighting to have the right to vote in the United States. In my opinion. I think everyone deserves to have their own opinion being heard by others and it shouldn’t be certain people, everyone deserves to have equal rights. This specific main issue tells me that the government was not making a change or at least trying at first, but in 1923 the national woman’s party propose to eliminate equal rights amendment. Then in 1965 all African american were allow to fully vote.

In my opinion I think women back then did the right to vote and it also helped them by their voices being heard. Going back to the timeline which was ‘One Hundred Years toward Suffrage: An overview’ states, “1837 The first National Female Anti-Slavery Society convention meets in New York City.” I guess we can say this is important to the movement because it was were they meet up and the first meeting being held. If I’m not mistaking I think that discrimination was another big part of the this specific issues because only certain were allow to vote. Also women weren’t being payed equally and being able to have their own control of there own body. Two other things that I remember from my history class in high school was having custody for their children and equality with their marriage. Having custody for your child is something all mother’s should have at all time’s and yes father too. If the mother shows that she’s capable of being responsible for their children then they should stay with them but obviously if they see that problems are occurring that’s when you know you should seek help.