Are the tactics used by suffragists to fight for political power still effective?
Suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment marked an important moment in the progression of women’s participation in our democracy and civic life. Yet it was an imperfect victory, and one that stands neither as a beginning nor an end, but as an important milestone in the fight for equality, justice and representation. The 2019 National Youth Summit looked at woman suffrage as an example of how groups with limited political power have and continue to shape our democracy using strategies and tools, like the vote and public protest, to give voice to issues and galvanize fellow Americans into communal movements for change.
Speakers included: Caty Borum Chattoo, Dolores Huerta, Naomi Wadler, and Page Harrington.
Watch the recorded event here. After, guide a discussion with your students and tackle the essential question by using the conversation kit. For additional resources, watch four short videos on Lisa Kathleen Graddy, curator of political and military history, explaining the objects suffragists used in their cause.