Author, League of Women Voters to talk about women’s suffrage
This year marks the 100th anniversary of both the ratification of the 19th Amendment and the creation of the League of Women Voters, and though progress has been made for women’s rights, a local author and an official from the civic organization are looking forward to greater achievements over the next 100 years.
On Thursday at 6 p.m., the League of Women Voters of Glendale/Burbank and the Buena Vista Branch Library, 300 N. Buena Vista St. in Burbank, are hosting a free event featuring author Ellen Carol DuBois, a professor emeritus of history at UCLA, who will be talking about her latest book, “Suffrage: Women’s Long Battle for the Vote.”
In her book, DuBois dives into to the suffragists and the efforts that were made to ensure all women had the right to vote, as well as how those struggles paved the way for greater equality for women.
“I try to make a strong case that woman suffrage wasn’t a single-issue movement,” she said. “It was always connected to a broad vision of human rights and women’s freedom.”
When the women’s suffrage movement ended, the major organization behind the effort became the League of Women Voters, which was founded by Carrie Chapman Catt on Feb. 14, 1920.
Mary Dickson, president of the League of Women Voters of Glendale/Burbank, said she loved DuBois’ book and felt empowered after reading it.
“Education is really core to our mission — to learn about the issues and to learn about our history,” Dickson said about co-hosting the event with the Burbank Library.
Though it may feel to some that efforts toward greater equality have taken a step backward in recent years, Dickson said people need to look at the larger picture and understand that humanity has come much further along than where it was before.
“Our society is continuing to evolve and women have made such great progress,” she said. “We’re not going to let go of it. We’re not ceding any territory or any rights at this point.”
