The League of Women Voters of Broward County will celebrate Women’s History Month with two library exhibits about the suffragists who worked for the passage of the 19th Amendment.
The full exhibit, “Votes for Women: A Story of Persistence,” will be displayed at the Broward County Main Library, Gallery 6, during March.
Several elements of the exhibit will also be displayed at the Northwest Regional Library.
The exhibit at the Main Library includes:
* Displays from the 2020 suffrage movement exhibits at the National Archives and the National Portrait Gallery.
* 35 panels telling the personal stories of fascinating suffragists, prepared by the Broward League.
The Northwest Library will feature 10 panels about interesting suffragists plus the exhibit from the National Archives.
In addition, a League member will present a slide-talk about interesting and surprising suffragists at 3 p.m. Saturday, March 12, at Northwest Regional Library. To attend, you must register at the library: http://broward.libnet.info/events
The full exhibit was displayed at the Main Library in August, 2021, but COVID limited the audience it reached.
“We have a lot to learn from the suffrage movement,” says Monica L. Elliott, president of the Broward League. “We call our exhibit ‘a story of persistence’ because three generations of women fought for 72 years to achieve passage of the amendment. And we’re still fighting for voting rights today.”
Elliott says most visitors to the exhibit will be surprised by what they learn.
Contrary to being limited to wealthy white women, as familiar stories suggest, the suffragists were fierce and radical, breaking all the rules of proper lady’s conduct. Those working for the vote included Black women, Hispanic women, Asian women and women from every state and territory.
“The real story of the women’s suffrage movement,” Elliott says, “is longer, more colorful and more complicated than many realize.”
The Broward County Main Library is at 100. S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale.
The Northwest Regional Library is at 3151 N. University Drive, Coral Springs.
For more information, contact the League of Women Voters of Broward County at info@lwvbroward.org.
The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, and works to increase understanding of major public policy issues. For more information visit www.lwvbroward.org.
