College
Women Picketing in Front of the White House, 1917: In the first such protest in
history, women picket the White House every day from January 1917 until the
19th Amendment was ratified in August 1920. On this day, college-educated women
worked the picket line. [Gelatin silver
print Courtesy of National Woman’s Party, Washington, D.C.]
CONWAY, Ark. (August
27, 2020) — Hendrix College’s Olin C. Bailey Library will host the Smithsonian traveling
exhibit “Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence” for the duration of the
Fall 2020 semester. The exhibit is available in
the library’s online gallery,
and in person by appointment between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through
Friday (a cloth mask must be worn). To schedule a visit, email libraryreference@hendrix.edu or
call 501-450-1303.
This poster
exhibition from the Smithsonian celebrates the 100th anniversary of the
Nineteenth Amendment and explores the complexity of the women’s suffrage
movement and the relevance of this history to Americans’ lives today. The story
of women’s suffrage is a story of voting rights, of inclusion in and exclusion
from the franchise, and of our civic development as a nation.
The crusade for
women’s suffrage is one of the longest reform movements in American history.
Between 1832 and 1920, women citizens organized for the right to vote,
agitating first in their states or territories and then, simultaneously,
through petitioning for a federal amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Based on
the National Portrait Gallery exhibition of the same name, Votes for Women
seeks to expand visitors’ understanding of the suffrage movement in the United
States. The poster exhibition addresses women’s political activism, explores
the racism that challenged universal suffrage, and documents the ratification
of the Nineteenth Amendment which prohibits the government from denying U.S.
citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. It also touches upon the
suffrage movement’s relevance to current conversations on voting and voting
rights across America.
“Votes for Women:
A Portrait of Persistence” is organized by the Smithsonian Institution
Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Portrait
Gallery. This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s
History Initiative.
About the
Initiative
The Smithsonian
American Women’s History Initiative, Because of Her Story is one of the
country’s most ambitious undertakings to research, collect, document display
and share the compelling story of women. It will deepen our understanding of
women’s contributions to the nation and the world. More information about the
initiative is available at womenshistory.si.edu.
About Hendrix College
A private liberal
arts college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns
recognition as one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is
featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think About Colleges.
Its academic quality and rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix
as a fixture in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876,
Hendrix has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To
learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.