March
3 – it was a date when thousands of women marched arm in arm in Washington,
D.C., and filled the streets. They were assaulted, brutalized and spat
upon. It was a march of immense proportion and one that lit the fire from a
burning decades-long movement started by women for women.
According to the Chicago Tribune, ambulances “came and went constantly for six hours, always impeded and at times actually opposed, so that doctor and driver literally had to fight their way to give succor to the injured.”
According to the Chicago Tribune, ambulances “came and went constantly for six hours, always impeded and at times actually opposed, so that doctor and driver literally had to fight their way to give succor to the injured.”
One
hundred marchers were taken to the local hospital. Before the afternoon was
over, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, responding to a request from the chief
of police, authorized the use of a troop of cavalry to help control the crowd.
Every
woman who is an American citizen earned the right to vote because of those who
braved the public streets and public forums to battle hostility and ignorance.
The
Parade for Women’s Suffrage in 1913 laid the groundwork for passage of the 19th
Amendment to the United States Constitution – giving each of us today the right
to vote in a process that so many now take for granted or simply ignore.
The
march was a pivotal moment, but the actual debate over female citizens sharing
the same rights as their male counterparts lasted 70 long years before culminating in
ratification in 1920.
In
the same tumultuous period for women, sororities were created and founded. No
surprise that women needed a place of respite and camaraderie to band together.
And it should also come as no surprise that the parade was organized by a
28-year-old woman who was exposed to the movement while working on her graduate
studies in social work.
How
far have we come? CNN called last year’s election “the year of the woman” as we
voted to send more women to office to represent us. A record 20 women now hold
U.S. Senate seats.
We
are not likely to forget our measure of achievement and what it took to get to
this moment in 2013.
The
history of the Suffragette Movement is one we should revisit and we’re glad our
member groups such as Alpha Gamma Delta have been sharing the
story.
Kappa
Kappa Gamma not only created an online exhibit sharing details from
the late 1800s, but has also produced a traveling exhibit that has been on display
at Harvard University. The exhibit can also be rented for conventions and other
special historical moments to keep the story alive and memorable.
From
time to time, let’s not forget that we need to dust off the grainy and creased
photos of the women who marched for us – and ahead of us.
