Women of Impact: 100 Years After Women’s Suffrage

How the fight for equality isn’t over [Women of Impact]( [VIEW ONLINE]( [Women of Impact]( [National Geographic]( Women of Impact By Rachel Hartigan, Senior Writer When I took the assignment to write about [the suffrage movement]( for National Geographic, I was immediately struck by how long it took for women to achieve the vote, how many generations were involved, and how much work is still left to be done. [Rachel Hartigan, Senior Writer] Actually, I was overwhelmed and I feared readers would be too. I didn’t know how to do justice to more than 70 years of history, multiple generations of women, and the many complex issues of race, gender, and equity that were raised by women’s fight to get the vote—and that are still with us today. So I took a step back from the sweep of history and sought out pivotal moments in the books I was reading and, especially, from the historians I was interviewing. I was looking for moments that crystallized the themes of the suffragists’ struggle. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper forcefully reminding white suffragists in 1866 that the injustices of racism and sexism were intertwined. Susan B. Anthony triumphantly (and illegally) voting in 1872 because she believed every citizen of the United States should have the right to vote and she intended to argue that belief all the way to the Supreme Court. Ida B. Wells adamantly refusing to march at the back of the line at the 1913 suffragist demonstration in Washington, D.C., because she would not let Black women be sidelined “in this great democratic parade.” Soon I was no longer overwhelmed but awestruck by the courage and persistence of women who demanded political power when they had none. But I also was reminded that the story of suffrage isn’t over yet. The 19th amendment didn’t grant women the right to vote; it decreed that the right to vote couldn’t be “denied or abridged … on account of sex.” Legislators and policymakers then and now have found plenty of other ways to prevent people, especially people of color, from voting. Anthony’s dream of universal suffrage is still out of reach. Female political representation also falls short, even with more women voting than men. Six women competed to be the Democratic presidential nominee and they all lost—although Kamala Harris just became the third woman (and first Black woman) to vie for the vice presidential slot on a major party’s ticket. The suffragist fight continues. The good news? Women of courage and persistence are still determined to pursue it. [These 32 people fought for the right to be heard]( Photo illustration by Johanna Goodman [A century after women’s suffrage, the fight for equality isn’t over]( Women struggled for decades to win the right to vote, but it’s taken even longer for all to be able to exercise it. [READ MORE]( [Educator and activist Nannie Helen Burroughs (with banner) meets with fellow members of the Woman’s National Baptist Convention. Burroughs urged Black and white women to work together to achieve the right to vote.]( Library of Congress [For Black women, the 19th Amendment didn’t end their fight to vote]( A noted historian examines two myths about what the 19th Amendment did—and didn’t—do for women in 1920. [Read more]( [Holding banners of purple, gold, and white, suffragists stood in front of the White House to attack President Woodrow Wilson’s refusal to back the Susan B. Anthony amendment.]( Album/Granger, NYC [Arrested and tortured, the Silent Sentinels suffered for suffrage]( Standing steadfast outside the White House, American suffragists protested their lack of liberty despite the threats of mobs, jail time, and violence. [Read More]( Virtual Panels: 100 Years After Women's Suffrage When the 19th Amendment was officially ratified in the U.S. on August 26, 1920, women still faced immense hurdles when they registered to vote. And those fights, for many women, to be seen and heard are continuing today. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, National Geographic livestreamed three virtual panels featuring historians, advocates, organizers, and others to the Women of Impact Facebook Group. The virtual panels can also be viewed on YouTube. [Debra Adams Simmons, executive editor at National Geographic (moderator) * Martha S. Jones, author and historian * Michelle Duster, journalist and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells]( [Black Women and the Suffrage Movement]( [Of the more than 12,000 U.S. lawmakers who have served in Congress since 1789, only 366 have been women. This conversation about the importance of recruiting women into politics was originally livestreamed to the National Geographic Women of Impact Facebook Group on August 12, 2020.]( [Recruiting Women for Office: Why is it Still Necessary?]( [Representation matters. This conversation about how the fight to be seen and heard continues today for many women was originally livestreamed to the National Geographic Women of Impact Facebook Group on August 14, 2020.]( [Continuing the Fight for Political Representation]( [New Zealand Bronwyn Clifford, 16, stands with other Maori women on Waitangi Day, observed each February to commemorate the Treaty of Waitangi, signed by some 500 Maori chiefs and the British in 1840.]( Andrea Bruce [4 countries where women have gained political power—and the obstacles they still face]( Activists in Bolivia, New Zealand, Iraq, and Afghanistan have made huge advances, but cultural resistance—and even violence—are still barriers to overcome. [READ MORE]( [Elizabeth Wanjiru, a Red Cross nurse, stands as she is introduced during a celebration of nurses at Kenyatta stadium in Machakos, Kenya, where a field hospital has been established for treating COVID-19.]( Yasuyoshi Chiba, AFP/Getty Images [Women are on the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19]( They’re ‘the shock absorbers of society’: a majority in the global health workforce, but scarce in its leadership ranks. Can that change? [READ MORE]( Ifeatu Nnaobi [PIVOTAL MOMENT with Ifeatu Nnaobi]( Ifeatu Nnaobi is a National Geographic grantee and a documentary filmmaker using digital media to contribute to mobilizing for change. She currently works on themes of migration, conflict, and human rights. Here she shares a pivotal moment from her life. My pivotal moment came in July 2016, when I lived on Nigeria's minimum wage of about $45 for one month. I wanted to share my opinion on the increasing poverty. I recorded and shared what life looked like under $2, a situation faced by approximately 80% of the country's population. That's 152 million people. Prior to that, I had quit my corporate job at a media firm because I wanted to support social justice causes but once I was unemployed, I suddenly became very afraid that I might fail. There is no instruction manual on how to create art projects while still making a living and I had no formal training in film and photography. [READ MORE]( [Watch Akashinga: The Brave Ones]( [Akashinga: The Brave Ones]( Founded in Zimbabwe, this women-only team of rangers—called Akashinga—is revolutionizing the way animals are protected and communities are empowered. And its members’ own lives are being transformed. Executive produced by three-time Academy Award winner James Cameron and directed by Maria Wilhelm, AKASHINGA: THE BRAVE ONES is a celebration of the courage, conservation and unorthodox thinking that’s leading to massive positive change. [Watch the short film here]( [Q&A with an Akashinga Ranger. Nyaradzo Hoto joined the Akashinga program after being forced to drop out of school and leaving an abusive marriage.]( [Twitter Q&A with Akashinga Ranger]( Nyaradzo Hoto joined the Akashinga program after being forced to drop out of school and leaving an abusive marriage. Now, while working as a ranger, she’s able to support herself and her family as she studies part-time at a university, undertaking a bachelor’s degree in science, wildlife, ecology and conservation. [Read the Q&A here]( [A message from the Women of Impact admins]( We are so proud of how much the Women of Impact community has grown and of the ideas, work, and experiences that are shared every day within the Facebook Group. Not only do we want all of these things to continue, we want them to flourish. A year-long subscription to National Geographic helps make that possible. 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