Women’s Equality Day, August 26th, is the date that commemorates the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. It was first celebrated in 1971, designated by Congress in 1973, and is proclaimed each year by the President of the United States.
Organized by Councilmember Trish White-Boyd, Roanoke also celebrated Women’s Equality Day. The celebration commemorated 104 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
An energized crowd gathered at the Martin Luther King Bridge at First Street in downtown to commemorate the day. Rev. Dr. Amy Hodge, pastor Mount Zion AME Church, in northwest opened with an uplifting prayer followed by powerful speeches from organizer White-Boyd, Dr. Brenda Hale, Lily Franklin and former Council Member Djuna Osborne.
Mayor Sherman P. Lea, presented a proclamation recognizing “August 26th as Women’s Equality Day.” The proclamation was read in English by Council Member Stephanie Moon Reynolds and in Spanish by Council Member Vivian Sanchez Jones.
Anita Reed called off a list of names of individuals who died at the hands of police brutality and/or other instances of senseless death.
Among the host of city officials present were: Vice Mayor Joe Cobb, Council Member Peter Volosin, Circuit Court Clerk Brenda Hamilton, Treasurer Evelyn Powers, Sheriff Antonio Hash, former Council Member Linda Wyatt and Interim City Manager Dr. Lydia Patton.
The event was very well-attended with everyone wearing white just as they did over 104 years ago. The ceremony shifted from the MLK statue and continued with a symbolic pilgrimage to Lack’s Plaza in downtown. Council Member White-Boyd reiterated that the struggle has taken decades, and it wasn’t until the Seneca Falls Convention in New York City in 1848 that the movement actually began; there in attendance was the only African American former slave and abolitionist, the famed Frederick Douglass.
However, it wasn’t until 1920 that there was real change, with the Suffrage March that took place on March 3, 1920, in Washington, DC. It was held the day before President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration to draw as much attention as possible, and according to history, it successfully drew a crowd of over 5,000 people from all over the United States.
Among this crowd were the members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, which had just been founded on January 13, 1913. These ladies were granted permission from the President of Howard University, making them the only organized Black female organization to participate in the suffrage march on that day. It was truly a joyous celebration and a reminder of how hard these ladies fought for equality a hundred years ago, and the fight for women’s equality continues.
