California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) presents “100 Years of the Women’s Vote.” The new online exhibition recognizes the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, and honors the lives and legacies of the early reformers who helped end the nearly century-long battle for women’s right to vote, and those carrying the torch today.
The artifacts, research, and interviews featured in “100 Years of the Women’s Vote” have been re-imagined as a virtual exhibit do to COVID-19. To view the online exhibit visit https://scalar.usc.edu/works/100-years-of-the-womens-vote/index.
Presented by the Donald R. & Beverly J. Gerth Archives and Special Collections and the Women’s Studies Program at CSUDH – with funding from a $5,000 California Humanities grant – the exhibit has been physically on display since early spring 2020.
“As we approach this historic anniversary, it is important to not only remember the history of women’s suffrage, but to place it in the context of ongoing activism for social, economic, and political equity for all individuals, regardless of gender, race, or sexual orientation,” said Jenn Brandt, associate professor of Women’s Studies at CSUDH. “I wanted to draw students into this history so that they could see the relevance that it holds for their lives today.”
The research, design, and curation of the exhibit was carried out by students in Brandt’s fall 2019 “Feminist Principles” class, where they studied women’s movements on a local, national, and global level.
Working alone and in groups, the students collected information, materials, and images related to the Suffrage Movement, a grassroots movement that began in the early 1800s to advocate for women’s right to vote and broad-based economic and political equality and participation. The more contemporary materials and local history for the exhibit includes women’s magazines from the 1960s through the 1980s that were published in California. Women’s sufferage received a major boost in 1851 when Sojourner Truth delivered her “Ain’t I a woman” speech at a womens rights meeting in Akron, Ohio.
For the posters, students researched topics of their choice, such as political moments, reproductive justice, and domestic abuse and the Violence Against Women Act of 1992. Some conducted interviews with female leaders making a difference in the region and at CSUDH, such as Josephine Lara, a community health outreach and marketing assistant for the South Bay Family Health Care Center.
“It was important for the exhibit to create a connection between the community and campus – to showcase ‘everyday people’ who are doing good work,” Brandt said.
