Today we mark the centennial of the 19th Amendment — but with an asterisk.
A century ago, the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made voting, our country’s most fundamental mode of civic participation, a right regardless of sex. But this watershed moment in our democracy excluded millions, including many women of color, from the ballot box for generations. The 19th Amendment remains unfinished business, a fact we acknowledge in our logo with an asterisk — a visible reminder of those who have been omitted from our democracy.
The reality is suffrage remains a work in progress for many in this country, particularly for those living in states where voter suppression exists and tens of thousands of transgender and nonbinary Americans who could be turned away at the polls this year just because they lack identification to vote.
We’re also commemorating this centennial in 2020 — a year in which marginalized communities are being disproportionately affected by a global pandemic, reckoning with our nation’s history of systemic racism and facing an enormously consequential election. This is truly an unprecedented time in America. And we believe how people engage on these issues will play a large part in the outcomes achieved.
For us, our motivation today and everyday is, “Lift one, lift all.”
The 19th is a newsroom that believes in the continued expansion of the franchise for ALL Americans. Our goal is to empower those we serve — particularly women, people of color, gender diverse people and those historically underserved by American media — with the information, resources and community they need to be equal participants in our democracy.
Photo courtesy of Errin Haines
On this suffrage centennial, I am thinking of the women who instilled in me a culture of civic participation: My mother, Joyce Haines, and her mother, Carleatha Haines, pictured above. Their participation in our democracy was something I got to witness up close; as a child, my mother took me with her to the polls, as her mother did with her and her siblings. I registered to vote three days after my 18th birthday, a point of pride for my mother and for me. I carry their example with me into our newsroom, and into this work.
As the expansion of the franchise continues today, I hope you’ll join us as we aim to capture this ongoing American story.
We are more than halfway to reaching our goal of 10,000 new members by the end of the day. Will you help power our journalism? This is just the beginning.
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