CITRUS CENTENNIAL OF WOMEN'S SUFFRAGE

Citrus Centennial of Women's Suffrage 100th Year Celebration of the 19th Amendment

Women all over the world celebrate the 100th anniversary of the end of the long battle to win their right to vote. The community of Citrus County, Florida had a well-planned live event scheduled for this momentous occasion. However, the COVID 19 Pandemic changed the course, as it did for so many others. Rather than to cancel, the Citrus Centennial of Women Suffrage, the League of Women Voters of Citrus County, and the Citrus County Parks and Recreation created a video comprised of the skits that were to be performed at the original live event along with speeches by some of the community's leaders.

The video presents appearances of character actors playing well-known suffragettes, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, Alice Paul, Mary Church Terrell, and Carrie Chapman Catt, and hosted by early Florida civic leader, May Mann Jennings.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott discuss the many years of struggle that passed before women obtained the vote. Mary Church Terrell reminds us of the important role the black suffragettes played in the women's movement but were not recognized at the time. Frederick Douglass shows his support and great respect for the suffragettes' continuous efforts.

We see the results of this long endeavor every day. Just look at the current number of women in Congress . However, we are not done. The Equal Rights Amendment was proposed 100 years ago, but not approved by the U.S. House of Representatives until October 12, 1971, and by the U.S. Senate on March 22, 1972. It was to be ratified by each state's legislature. Yet as of today, almost 50 years later, it has not been ratified by 3 states. Louisiana, Alabama, and South Dakota. Our efforts will continue.