2016: Women’s Equality Day

Women’s Equality Day commemorates passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting the right to vote to women.

The amendment was first introduced in 1878. In 1971, the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day. 

SAMPLE PROCLAMATION FOR WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY 

Joint Resolution of Congress, 1971
Designating August 26 of each year as Women’s Equality Day

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have united to assure that these rights and privileges are available to all citizens equally regardless of sex; and

WHEREAS, the women of the United States have designated August 26, the anniversary date of the certification of the Nineteenth Amendment, as symbol of the continued fight for equal rights: and

WHEREAS, the women of United States are to be commended and supported in their organizations and activities,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as Women’s Equality Day, and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights took place.

IDEAS FOR CELEBRATING WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY

Make history come alive with a special presentation or performance. http://www.nwhp.org/performers-speakers/national/

Make sure all your libraries both school and community have a copy of Winning the Vote:  The Triumph of the American Suffrage Movement.  Now reduced 40% to $49.95 with an additional 40% savings for ordering over 4 copies. Winning The Vote: The Triumph of the American Woman Suffrage Movement

Sign the Women’s Equality Day petition to lobby for Women’s Equality Day, August 26th to be elevated as a federal holiday.  https://www.change.org/p/elevate-women-s-equality-day-to-a-federal-holiday

The Women’s History Alliance will be working for the next 4 years to have Women’s Equality Day 2020 declared a federal holiday. Please join us. https://shop.nwhp.org/womens-history-alliance-membership-p5644.aspx

 For an array of resources related to Women’s Equality Day, please visit our webstore Women’s Rights and Women’s Equality Day Resources

Learn more about Inez Milholland – the Woman’s Suffrage Martyr and visit  Inez Milholland Centennial

Order a Free DVD  Inez Miholland “Forward into the Light” for your event  http://inezmilholland.org/

These resources, compiled by the National Education Association, are intended to help students in grades K-12 learn about the suffrage movement in general and the 19th Amendment in particular. 

1. Graphic: Women’s Equality Day – August 26. Save and print this infographic or embed it on a website (Grades K-12).
2. 100 Years Ago, the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade. Text, photos, and illustrations about the March 3, 1913 Women’s Suffrage Parade (Grades K-12).
3. NWHM Woman Suffrage Cyber Exhibit. An image gallery with 50 artifacts developed by suffrage supporters to sell the women’s right to vote (Grades K-12).
4. Women’s Suffrage. A teaching unit about the quest by women to win the right to vote. Teacher’s guide included (Grades 1-8).
5. Women Win the Vote. An overview of the suffrage movement, including brief biographies of 75 Suffragists (Grades 5-8).
6. Education and Resources: National Women’s History Museum (NWHM). Features videos, activities, interactive lessons, and quizzes highlighting the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic, and political life of the U.S. (Grades 6-12).
7. Woman Suffrage and the 19th Amendment: Teaching with Documents. Ten documents from 1868 to 1920, document analysis worksheets, teaching activities, and standards correlations (Grades 6-12).
8. Votes for Women: Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848 – 1921. The collection comprises 167 books, pamphlets, images, and illustrations documenting the suffrage campaign (Grades 9-12).
9. Women’s Suffrage: Manuscript Division. Includes papers of the movement’s early pioneers, the daughters of that first generation, the women who made the successful push to victory, and records of leading national suffrage organization (Grades 9-12).
10. Women’s Suffrage. Six historians examine aspects of women’s efforts to gain the right to vote (Grades 9-12).

Women’s Equality Day wikipedia entry

Shelley Zalis, “Women’s Equality Day: This Is What Equality Looks Like“, Forbes, August 26, 2018.