Virtual: Women and the Vote in Winston-Salem and the Tarheel State

With the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, women’s right to vote was enshrined in the US Constitution. The journey to women’s suffrage had been a long one, and for many women—particularly African-Americans and Native Americans—access to the ballot would still be delayed for years or even decades. Marking the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, MUSE Winston-Salem will be offering a series of programs in the coming months to explore the fight for suffrage and efforts to fulfill the 19th Amendment’s promises in a local, state, and national context.
This event will begin on Thursday, May 21st at 7:00 PM for a Facebook livestream event featuring a moderated discussion with Sarah Koonts, State Archivist of North Carolina, and Karen Feeney, Head of the North Carolina Collection at the Forsyth County Public Library. Koonts is the curator of “She Changed the World: North Carolina Women Breaking Barriers,” an archive-based exhibit commemorating the debates around suffrage as North Carolinians deliberated ratification. At Winston-Salem’s Forsyth County Central Library, Feeney recently partnered with Salem College to mount an exhibit highlighting post-suffrage voter education efforts led by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, however, both of these fascinating exhibits have been deprived of their audience! So MUSE Winston-Salem is delighted to be hosting a lively presentation and discussion that will feature a virtual sharing of artifacts from state and local archives that bring alive the sometimes fevered debates between pro-suffrage and anti-suffrage forces in the years leading up the 19th Amendment’s passage, as well as illuminating the work of the League of Women Voters to encourage Winston-Salem women to participate in the electoral process.
The event is presented in partnership with the State Archives of North Carolina and Forsyth County Public Library, Winston-Salem, NC. Mike Wakeford, Interim Executive Director of MUSE W-S, will moderate.
**A livestream link will be posted at this event page on the evening of the event. Attendees are encouraged to ask questions during the event!