Celebrating the right to vote

“Can you imagine not having the right to vote,” is a question posed by Chris Knickerbocker, a member of Tioga County Women’s Suffrage Centennial Committee. Knickerbocker, along with about ten other committee members, has worked to help Tioga County celebrate the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Aug. 18, 2020 marks the 100th year since the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits sex discrimination in the right to vote, was ratified. 

Tioga County Historian, Emma Sedore, shared, “The 19th Amendment is also known as the Anthony Amendment, named for Susan B. Anthony,” adding, “Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted the document and first introduced it in the Senate in January 1878.”

From the time the amendment was first introduced, the champions of its success were members of the Women’s Suffrage Movement. Suffragists and their supporters, including men, passionately lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied and even involved themselves in civil disobedience such as silent vigils and hunger strikes, and risked being heckled, abused or even jailed, and ultimately won by their extraordinary perseverance.

The amendment passed in the House of Representatives in May 1919, and subsequently passed in the Senate in June that year. From there, 36 states had to ratify it to become law, and incredibly, that thirty-sixth state, Tennessee, passed it by only one vote on Aug. 18, 1920.

Around the Village of Owego and elsewhere in Tioga County, you may have noticed purple, gold and white flags gracing local businesses, along with decorative buntings, and many that are women-owned. Sedore explained that the flags commemorate the anniversary, the colors of which represent loyalty (purple), white (purity) and hope (gold), and provide identity for the suffrage movement.

Flags are also placed on notable properties, such as at 18 Front St. Susan B. Anthony visited Owego in 1894 to speak at an event, and was the overnight guest of Elizabeth Browne Chatfield, a suffragist and private secretary to Anthony who lived at 18 Front St.  

Another property is the Belva Lockwood Inn at 249 Front St. Lockwood was the principal of the then Owego female seminary and was the first woman to practice law before the Supreme Court. She authored articles about the suffragist movement and also ran for president, twice.

Businesses, and residents too, can purchase the three-foot by five-foot flags for $6 each via Hemp Geek, located at 44 Lake St. in Owego. Interested individuals can stop by or call (607) 644-6819 to reserve a flag.  

The flag, which is often referred to as the Alice Paul flag, features hand-sewn stars that represent each state that ratified the 19th Amendment. Paul, a suffragist and women’s rights activist, was one of the main leaders for the amendment campaign. Women-owned businesses can also pick up event posters at Hemp Geek.

Knickerbocker explained that the committee had originally planned a yearlong celebration in 2020; however coronavirus concerns changed up the planning.  Three years ago, the Broome / Tioga Suffrage Anniversary Committee hosted a special event at the Tioga County Courthouse and throughout the county, and in honor of the women’s right to vote, which the State of New York granted in 1917.

From exhibits to SHERO nominations to a brand new video, among other happenings, the committee welcomes all to celebrate. 

Susan B. Anthony will speak on Aug. 18 in the Hubbard Auditorium in Owego.  The speech will be live-streamed via Legislator Martha Sauerbrey’s social media page.  

Referring to the first Women’s Rights Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848, Sedore remarked, “Ladies, it is important that you never forget to appreciate your freedom to vote, and for the long, hard struggle by the women who led the way.” 

To learn more about celebration activities, visit www.celebrate100tioga.com/.