Officials such as Rep. Andy Kim and New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way were at the Alice Paul Institute to speak about the legacy of the suffragist movement.
Nearly 100 years ago, the United States ratified the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution on Aug. 18, 1920, thereby granting women the right to vote.
Now, as the centennial of the passage of the 19th amendment looms for 2020, Mt. Laurel’s Alice Paul Institute and multiple other organizations are already looking forward to a wide variety of regional efforts to celebrate the occasion throughout this year and next.
Last week saw API officials speak about future plans before an audience of elected representatives, state officials, historical organizations, libraries and members of the press gathered at Mt. Laurel’s historical Paulsdale, which was the childhood home of noted suffragist Alice Paul.
Paul was one of the main leaders and strategists in the successful campaign for the passage of 19th Amendment nearly a century ago.
“This is her time and the time for the whole suffragist movement to shine in the next year, and we want to make the most of this moment to educate more people about their past so they can understand their future,” said Lucy Beard, executive director at API.
As announced at last week’s event, the API will be joining with groups such as the American Association of Women, the New Jersey Historical Commission, the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, the Newark Public Library and more for events that will focus on suffragist legacy while advancing future work for women’s rights and equality.
Whether it’s fundraising efforts, voter registration drives, panel discussions, historical exhibits, teacher workshops or even the re-creation of a women’s suffrage march, officials say the API and its partner organizations have a variety of events planned for 2019 and 2020.
Officials also used last week’s event as a kick-off to Women’s History Month for 2019, which runs throughout March.
One elected official to speak at the event was newly elected Congressman Andy Kim (D) of New Jersey’s Third Congressional District, wherein Mt. Laurel and Paulsdale are located.
Speaking to Paul’s legacy, Kim said that while women and activists had achieved much, work remained to be done to lower the barriers that prevent those across the country, including women, from exercising their right to vote.
As such, Kim pointed to the bill he and his newly elected Democratic majority in the U.S. House Representatives chose to unveil as their first bill at the start of the new Congress last month.
In addition to campaign ethics and finance reforms, the bill would make Election Day a holiday for federal employees while encouraging private sector businesses to follow, require poll workers to provide a week’s notice should polling sites need to be changed, stop non-forwardable mail as a way to remove voters from rolls, recruit and train more poll workers for the 2020 election and more.
“While we spend this time today and this upcoming month to be able to reflect on the incredible work that so many women have gone through to ensure the right to vote and equality and so many other steps that we’re going to continue to fight for, it is incumbent on us that are here right now working together to think about that future,” Kim said.
Also among those in attendance was New Jersey Secretary of State Tahesha Way, who said Paul and the API that bears her name are due a “great deal of gratitude” for the work of advancing women and girls.
“Today, together, we are announcing important events built around the 2020 centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment,” Way said. “It is truly wonderful to have partners like API.”
To learn more about the API’s upcoming events and its work with other organizations, visit www.alicepaul.org.
The API is also set to hold its largest fundraising event of the year — The Alice Paul Equality Awards — on March 4 at Westin Mount Laurel.
The link to tickets is also available through www.alicepaul.org.
