The 19th Amendment was ratified by Congress on August 18, 1920, and provides that the right of citizens of the United States shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex. It’s been 103 years, and since that summer, women voters of different racial and ethnic backgrounds have faced barriers to voting, like literacy tests and identification requirements. Voting can never be taken for granted, and it’s not a guarantee. Let’s take a look back at the long struggle for women’s suffrage and its after-effects with these titles.
Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality, 1920-2020 by Elisabeth Griffith
Published: 2022
Formats Available: Print and eBook via hoopla
Call Number: 305.4209 GRI
The Nineteenth Amendment was an incomplete victory. A century later, women are still grappling with how to use the vote and their political power to expand civil rights, confront racial violence, improve maternal health, advance educational and employment opportunities and secure reproductive rights. Formidable chronicles the efforts of white and Black women to advance sometimes competing causes. Black women wanted the rights enjoyed by whites. White women wanted to be equal to white men. In this riveting narrative, Dr. Elisabeth Griffith integrates the fight by white and Black women to achieve equality.
Crusade for Justice: the Autobiography of Ida B. Wells edited by Alfreda Duster
Published: 2020
Format Available: Print
Call Number: B WELLS
Ida B. Wells is an American icon of truth-telling. Born to enslaved people, she was a pioneer of investigative journalism, a crusader against lynching and a tireless advocate for suffrage, both for women and for African Americans. She co-founded the NAACP, started the Alpha Suffrage Club in Chicago and was a leader in the early civil rights movement, working alongside W. E. B. Du Bois, Madam C. J. Walker, Mary Church Terrell, Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.
Drawing the Vote by Tommy Jenkins, illustrated by Kati Lacker
Published: 2020
Formats Available: Print and eBook via hoopla
Call Number: GRAPHIC 324.6 JEN
Coinciding with the 2020 US presidential election, Drawing the Vote, an original graphic novel, looks at the history of voting rights in the United States and how it affects the way we vote today. Throughout the book, the author, Tommy Jenkins, identifies events and trends that led to the unprecedented results of the 2016 presidential election that left American political parties more estranged than ever. To balance these complex ideas and statistics, Kati Lacker’s original artistic style makes the book accessible for readers of all ages. At a time when many citizens are experiencing challenges and apathy about voting and skepticism concerning our bitterly divided government, Drawing the Vote seeks to offer some explanation for how we got here and how every American can take action to make their vote count.
The Women’s March by Jennifer Chiaverini
Published: 2021
Formats Available: Print, Large Print, CD, eBook and eAudiobook via Libby and Axis 360
Call Number: FICTION CHIAVERINI
Inspired by actual events, this novel offers a fascinating account of a crucial but little-remembered moment in American history that follows three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight to win the vote.
Something Worth Doing by Jane Kirkpatrick
Published: 2020
Formats Available: Print, Large Print and eBook via hoopla
Call Number: FICTION KIRKPATRICK
Based on a true story, pioneer Abigail Scott denies herself the joys of a simpler life to achieve her dream of securing rights for women. But running a controversial newspaper and leading suffrage efforts in the Northwest carry a great personal cost. A tender, powerful story of a woman’s conflicts–with society and herself.