Please follow @womensmarch.Picture: “MR. PRESIDENT HOW LONG MUST WOMEN WAIT FOR LIBERTY,&rdquo
Please follow @womensmarch.Picture: “MR. PRESIDENT HOW LONG MUST WOMEN WAIT FOR LIBERTY,” National Woman’s Party member Alison Turnbull Hopkins, The White House, Washington, D.C., January 30, 1917. Photo c/o @librarycongress.On January 10, 1917, one hundred years ago today, members of the National Woman’s Party left their D.C. headquarters and marched to the White House. Carrying banners of purple, white, and gold, the women took up their stations as “silent sentinels”; this silent protest, which took place every day for months, was the first picket line at the White House.While the suffrage movement already had made its presence felt in D.C. by 1917, the White House picket was different. In January, when the sentinels first arrived, President Wilson would smile and tip his hat as he left the grounds; by March, he refused to acknowledge the demonstrators. And, with the United States’ entry into World War I in April 1917, the sentinels faced scorn and harassment from an increasingly patriotic society.Over the summer, police arrested demonstrators for blocking traffic, and those imprisoned faced harsh treatment. Even during wartime, these stories made front page news, bringing attention, sympathy, and support to the cause.Finally, on January 9, 1918, Wilson announced his support for a Constitutional amendment securing the right to vote for women; it passed the House of Representatives the following day, ninety-nine years ago today.Over the coming days, @lgbt_history will feature a series of posts about the powerful impact that citizens can have when they gather in Washington to protest. Such protests are not just opportunities to show strength in numbers (though there is great value in that), but historically have proven to be pivotal moments for causes of social justice. These gatherings are a chance to organize, energize, unify, and remind others that we are everywhere.Alison T. Hopkins, Jacob Coxey, Martin Luther King, Audre Lorde, Gloria Steinem, John Lewis, Larry Kramer; these are some of the names that changed history by marching on Washington.Become part of this tradition by joining @womensmarch on January 21. #HavePrideInHistory #WomensMarch (at The White House) -- source link
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