Susan B. Anthony Plaque Rededication and Women's Equality Day

[image:19801,right]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Aug. 20, 2014

For more information, please contact:

Cathi Crabtree, Chair, City of Bloomington's Commission on the Status of Women, 812.272.1600

Efrat Feferman, Chair, Monroe County Women's Commission, 812.606.8103

Susan B. Anthony Plaque Rededication and Women's Equality Day

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women (BCSW) and the Monroe County Women's Commission (MCWC) are holding a plaque rededication ceremony on Tuesday, August 26, which is Women's Equality Day. The ceremony begins at 5 p.m. and will be held at the Redmen building, 116 N. Walnut St., to reinstall a plaque commemorating Susan B. Anthony's historic visit to Bloomington in 1887. The plaque was taken down earlier this year for building maintenance. Lemonade will be served beginning at 4:45 p.m. by Eden and Ivy, winners of the Best Tasting Lemonade award at this year's Lemonade Day. BCSW and MCWC presidents will speak about Susan B. Anthony and Women's Equality Day, along with local historian Glenda Murray. Proclamations in honor of Women's Equality Day by the City of Bloomington and Monroe County will be on display. The ceremony will conclude at 5:30 p.m.

"The passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1920 granting women the right to vote was the culmination of a difficult and courageous political battle, decades in the making. It is remarkable to reflect on how recently in the span of our history women were disenfranchised citizens, with no voice in their representative government. We must not take for granted that the an equal and just society requires persistent vigilance, courage, and hard work. Monroe County is proud of its role in this historic struggle. " said Efrat Feferman, who chairs the Monroe County Women's Commission.

Susan B Anthony (1820-1906) is one of the best-known historical figures in the fight for women's right to vote in the United States. Anthony visited Bloomington a number of times, twice in 1870 and then from November 10 to 11 in 1887, which is the visit commemorated by the historical marker. Maud Showers, one of the owners of the Showers Furniture Company, was a civil rights activist in Bloomington. Anthony was invited by Showers in 1887 to speak at the First General Convention of Women in Monroe County. Her speech took place at the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church, located on the east side of the Courthouse Square. The church was located where the Redmen Building currently sits. The plaque will be reinstalled on the building between Athena and SeaView Outfitters.

The text on the plaque is as follows:

In commemoration of

Susan B. Anthony's speech at

the Walnut Street Presbyterian Church

(once located here)

November 10-11, 1887.

Susan B. Anthony was a champion for women's suffrage

and a key advocate for women's rights.

Her Bloomington speech was delivered to the

First General Convention of Women in Monroe County

Due to her and others' work in the suffrage movement,

Women were granted the right to vote in 1920 by

the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

"Suffrage is the pivotal right." Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)

Dedicated November 2012

By the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women

and the Monroe County Women's Commission

About Susan B. Anthony:

Susan Brownwell Anthony was an abolitionist, social reformer and suffragist. In 1868, she founded the periodical "The Revolution" in New York City, a paper that promoted granting the right to vote to women and African Americans. In 1872 Anthony was arrested in New York for casting a vote in the Presidential election. Anthony co-founded the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869 with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, another famous name in the history of women's suffrage. In 1890, the NWSA merged with the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA) to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Fourteen years after Anthony's death, women were finally granted the right to vote in 1920 by the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

About Women's Equality Day:

August 26, 2014, marks the 94th anniversary of the Woman Suffrage Movement's great victory, ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This courageous political campaign, which spanned 72 years (1848-1920), was carried out by tens of thousands of persistent women and men. To win the right to vote, women circulated countless suffrage petitions and gave speeches in churches, convention halls, meeting houses and on street corners. They published newspapers, pamphlets, and magazines. They were frequently harassed and sometimes thrown in jail. Still they persevered. Finally, on August 26, 1920, their goal was achieved. Women had won the right to vote and to hold elective offices. The American Woman Suffrage Movement stands as a lasting affirmation of our country's democratic promise for it re-emphasizes the importance of the most fundamental democratic values: the right to vote, and the possibility of peaceful yet revolutionary political change.

About the Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women:

The Bloomington Commission on the Status of Women (BCSW) was founded by the City of Bloomington in 1973. The Commission identifies needs, resources and gaps in resources for women and monitors federal, state and local policies and their impact on women. In addition, the Commission issues reports on data and recommendations pertaining to the status of women in Bloomington and Monroe County. The Commission also hosts an annual Women's History Month luncheon honoring the Woman of the Year and Emerging Leader, organizes an annual Leadership Development Conference, and provides leadership scholarships and other benefits to women.

About the Monroe County Women's Commission:

The Monroe County Women's Commission was founded in 2011 and is the first County Women's Commission in the state of Indiana. The primary duties of the Commission are to serve in an advisory role to assist residents, businesses and the Monroe County government in addressing issues of gender inequality in all aspects of society, including government, the economy, education, employment, social and family development, health care, the justice system, the arts, as well as land use and planning.

For more information, contact Sue Owens at owenss@bloomington.in.gov.

###