GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — A group of suffragists gathered in downtown Grand Rapids Thursday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote this week.
Members of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council (GGRWHC) were at the Grand Rapids Art Museum patio and Rosa Parks Circle, wearing suffragists garb and carrying "Votes for Women" signage.
In honor of the of the women who worked to get the legislation passed, the GGRWHC has selected a dozen graves suffragist in Fulton and Oak Hill South cemeteries for recognition.
“The struggle for women’s right to vote was long and difficult," Susan Coombes, GGRWHC board member, said. “A number of Grand Rapids women were at the forefront of the Suffragist movement, and this is an opportunity to recognize their contributions.”
The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress on June 4, 2020 and ratified on Aug. 18, 1920. The 19th Amendment states, “the rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.” Still, the fight for equality did not end in 1920.
It took decades of fighting for minority women and Black Americans to gain the right to vote. It wasn't until 1965 when African Americans, Native Americans, and individuals with Asian ancestry were able to vote in the U.S.
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