What is a Vote Worth? Suffrage Then and Now will run Mar. 2020 – Feb. 2021
LOUISVILLE, KY ∙ Wednesday, March 4, 2020 — On August 18, 1920, Congress ratified the
19th Amendment granting women the legal right to vote. This year, the Frazier History Museum, the League of Women Voters of Louisville (LWVL), and the Louisville Metro Office for Women (OFW) have come together to mark the 100 th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting, with an exhibit at the Frazier sponsored by Wells Fargo.
What is a Vote Worth? Suffrage Then and Now will examine the women’s suffrage movement in the U.S., while zeroing in on features of the movement in Kentucky — its stars and villains,
triumphs and defeats.
About the Exhibit
What is a Vote Worth? Suffrage Then and Now
March 19, 2020 – February 28, 2021
By situating the Kentucky woman’s suffrage movement within the history of the larger
movement, What is a Vote Worth? will connect the struggles faced by women in the past to
those that continue in the 21 st century.
The exhibit will divide into several sections, each of which will adhere to a theme or tackle a set
of questions:
Life Before Suffrage. What was life like for women before they gained the legal right to
vote?
Prominent Kentucky Woman Suffragists. Who were Anna Simms Banks, Madeline
McDowell Breckinridge, Mary Breckinridge, and Susan Look Avery? What roles did they
play?
Marching For Equality. What did the Woman
Suffrage Procession of 1913 accomplish?
How did it shape the struggle for women’s
suffrage?
Woman Suffrage Procession, 1913
Clubs and Associations. What role did clubs and organizations such as the Women’s
Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) play?
Lifting as We Climb: African-American Women and Suffrage. What role did black
women play in the fight for women’s suffrage in the U.S.? How and why did many white
women’s suffrage organizations work to keep black women disenfranchised?
Partners and Allies. Who were the
movement’s prominent male allies? What role
did they play?
The Anti-Suffrage Movement. Who were the most outspoken critics of the women’s
suffrage movement? What were their arguments, and how did they message them?
Post-19 th Amendment Milestones. How and when was the franchise expanded to
Asian-Americans, Native Americans, and other disenfranchised groups in the United
States?
The Voting Rights Act of 1965. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and
‘60s, which of the movement’s key activists were operating in Louisville and elsewhere in
Kentucky?
Suffrage, Then and Now. What does the struggle for suffrage look like today? How do
gerrymandering, poll taxes, felony disfranchisement, SCOTUS’s Shelby County ruling,
and the voting rights restrictions on U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and other territories
stand in the way of universal suffrage? How have the 2017 Women’s March and the
#MeToo and #TimesUp movements shaped the collective struggles against sex- and
gender-based discrimination and, more broadly, patriarchy?
Objects on display will include:
A replica cast of a handshake between suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B.
Anthony
Historic women’s costumes and undergarments, 1820 – 1920; and women’s bicycles,
late 19 th c.
Pro-suffrage books and miscellany, including a Louisville Equal Rights Association
minutes book, “Votes For Women” apparel, broadsides, postcards, and valentines; and a
“Not For Sale” stencil
A diorama, stereoscope images, and original artifacts of the 1913 march, including a
parade cape and a pamphlet titled Official Program: Woman’s Suffrage Procession,
Washington D.C., March 3, 1913
For the most up-to-date information, visit fraziermuseum.org/exhibits/suffrage.
Events & Programs
The Frazier will further support the exhibit during its year-long run with a variety of events,
programs, and community outreach initiatives celebrating women’s suffrage. Other
organizations can upload their own suffrage-related activities and events to the community
calendar at fraziermuseum.org/womenvote.
o Exhibit Opening. A public ribbon-cutting ceremony and exhibit opening. Thur., March
19, 10 a.m.
o Trailblazers Among Us. A discussion with the Hon. Denise Clayton, chief judge of the
Kentucky Court of Appeals; Dolores Delahanty, founding member of the NWPC; Elmer
Lucille Allen, artist and activist; the Hon. Tina Ward-Pugh, Director of the Louisville
Tillie Anderson, c. 1891
Metro Office for Women (OFW); and Tori Murden McClure, President of Spalding
University. Co-moderated by Pam and Rachel Platt. Tue., April 21, 6 – 7 p.m. (program).
o Youth Voter Engagement Competition. Teams of Louisville high school students each
receive a grant from the Frazier to create an innovative project that inspires first-time
voters to go to the polls. Winners announced April 20. The winning team will be invited to
march in the Pegasus Parade on April 30. Details at whatisavoteworth.org/youth-voter-
initiative.
o Remember the Ladies. An interview with Remember the Ladies author Angela P.
Dodson conducted by journalist Betty Bayé. Thur., May 21, 5:30 – 6:30 (exhibit access),
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. (program).
o What is a Vote Worth? Frazier Community Play Festival. A four-day run of nightly
performances. Mon., June 8 – Thur. June 11, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.(program, w/
intermission).
o Women’s Equality Day at the Frazier. Various programs, including a talk with author
Tina Cassidy and performance from artist Hannah Drake. Sat., August 22.
o What is a Vote Worth? A panel discussion on voting issues. Panelists include Joshua
Douglas, Prof. at UK’s College of Law; Michael Adams, Secretary of State (KY); Rick
Green, Editor of The Courier Journal; and Sadiqa Reynolds, President of the Louisville
Urban League. Co-moderated by Rachel Platt and Renee Shaw, host of KET’s Kentucky
Tonight. Tue., September 8, 6 – 7 p.m. (program).
o Why Can’t We Talk Anymore? A panel discussion on civil discourse with Julie Raque
Adams and Morgan McGarvey, Kentucky State Senate; Chandra Irvin, Director of the
Center for Peace and Spiritual Renewal at Spalding University; Leisa Schulz,
Superintendent of Louisville Catholic Schools; and the Hon. Ron Mazzoli. Tue, October
13, 6 – 7 p.m. (program).
o Thank a Suffragist. Tours of suffragists’ grave sites. Tue., November 3. Cave Hill
Cemetery.
o Women Who Serve. A panel on women veterans. Tue., November 10, 6 – 7 p.m.
(program).
Live Performances
Interpretations are short, monologue-style performances based on historical figures. Each
interpretation is written and staged in costume by one of the Frazier’s Teaching Artists and
performed on a regular schedule.
o Tillie Anderson, 1890s. The story of the women’s world
champion in cycling, who deemed Louisville the hub of the
U.S. racing circuit.
o Cornelia Beach, 1917. The story of a Louisville schoolteacher
and suffragist who was arrested while picketing outside the
White House.
Educational Resources
An inquiry-based curriculum guide for grades K – 12 that adopts the
new Social Studies standards has been made available to all teachers
in Kentucky free of charge at whatisavoteworth.org.
Where: Frazier History Museum, 829 W Main St
Louisville, KY 40202
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