Traveling Exhibit to Highlight Contributions of African American Women to Women's Suffrage
By University Relations Staff
DUBUQUE, Iowa - A traveling exhibit at the University of Dubuque will highlight the contributions of African American women on the broader history of women's suffrage.
"Toward a Universal Suffrage: African American Women in Iowa and the Vote for All" will be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 18, 2022, through Friday, October 21, 2022, in the Couchman Reading Room, Charles C. Myers Library. It will then move and be open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday, October 24, 2022, through Friday, October 28, 2022, in the Multicultural Student Engagement Center, Peter and Susan Smith Welcome Center. There is no cost to attend. Student-guided tours, listed below, will also be available.
A reception will be held from noon to 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 26, 2022, in the Multicultural Student Engagement Center. It is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be available. Adam Smith, PhD, associate professor of political science, and Brian Hallstoos, PhD, associate professor of history, will share remarks during the reception.
"Toward a Universal Suffrage: African American Women in Iowa and the Vote for All" honors and celebrates the contributions of Iowa's African American women to win the vote. The year 2020 marked the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution. The amendment states the right to vote cannot be denied based on sex. The adoption of this amendment gave many women the right to vote in all elections.
Historian Rosalyn Terborg-Penn wrote that "African American women were universal suffragists in the sense that their voices called for the vote for all citizens, not just for themselves." With the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, all African American women gained the right to vote.
"Toward a Universal Suffrage: African American Women in Iowa and the Vote for All" is sponsored by Dubuque County Historic Preservation Commission, UD's Office of Academic Affairs, and UD's Office of Multicultural Student Engagement. It is organized by Allyn Benkowich and Kristen Corey of the Office on the Status of Women, Iowa Department of Human Rights; Karen M. Kedrowski of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University; and Eric Morse of the Central Iowa Community Museum.
Student-guided tours will be available on following dates and times:
Friday, October 21, 2022: 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Monday, October 24, 2022: 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Tuesday, October 25, 2022: 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 26, 2022: 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Thursday, October 27, 2022: 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Friday, October 28, 2022: 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
