‘Brilliant and politically savvy:’ The roles of African American women in the fight to vote 100 years ago
In a pair of three-story brick row houses on an avenue in northwest Baltimore, two women, Margaret Hawkins and Augusta Chissell, lived side by side.
Driven to the same city block by the forces of residential segregation, they were united by a common ambition – the push for racial and women’s equality.
Streets away lived another activist with similar sentiments. A teacher and mother, Estelle Young was eager to see Black women, including one day her own daughter, earn a spot at the polls. Young befriended the two women down the road.
Together they became a neighborly powerhouse, leading the campaign for suffrage from their own living rooms.
Their names aren't familiar to most, suppressed by a century of fragmented history, but their activism mirrors a movement across the country.
More than 100 years ago, as a groundswell of momentum pushed toward giving women the right to vote, Black women nationwide stood up to join the cause.
Even when racism tore through the movement – undercutting their efforts and severing the strength of a united female front – they were undeterred.
What Black suffragists achieved greatly shaped the fight for women's rights.
In the wake of the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment, a history once silenced is slowly resurfacing. Stories of the relentless efforts of women of color have found a new platform, providing a chance to elevate what has been untold.
