Free Exhibit on Women’s Suffrage Centennial Offered to Arizona Cities and Towns

The nonprofit group Questers has created a traveling exhibit to commemorate the 100th anniversary of passage of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution giving women the right to vote. This free exhibit is scheduled to tour more than 100 libraries, museums, schools, events and government offices in Arizona’s cities and towns during 2020.

In addition, The Arizona Questers are offering presentations on women’s history and the women’s suffrage movement in the US and Arizona to celebrate the centennial of one of the most significant civil rights achievements in US history.

American women first formally asked for the vote at the Seneca Falls Convention in Seneca Falls, NY, in July 1848. The site of the convention is now the National Women’s Rights Historical Park, with an impressive visitor center. The 19th Amendment was ratified by 36 states and signed into law August 26, 1920. Many leading suffragists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, who worked together for more than 50 years, never lived to see women win the right to vote.

Six individual, freestanding canvas banners — each 36” wide and 86” tall — tell the fascinating story of the 72-year nonviolent struggle to win the vote. The exhibit features colorful illustrations and easy-to-read descriptions of 1) the reasons women had to fight for the vote, 2) efforts to win the vote, 3) difficulties the suffragists faced, 4) women’s suffrage in Arizona, 5) progress women have made with use of the vote, and 6) the theme that “each of us makes history.” This banner allows viewers to take a selfie photo beneath the headline “We make history!”

Women’s suffrage is a timeless topic, because the suffrage movement is an iconic example of the democratic process. So, even though the centennial is in 2020, the exhibit is designed to be effective for years to come. When the exhibits are done touring, they will be available for permanent placement as a gift from The Questers.

The Questers Women’s Suffrage Exhibit was developed in cooperation with the Arizona Capitol Museum, which is hosting the exhibit, and the Arizona State Library, which has developed a reading list of books for adults and children on women’s suffrage. The list is available on their website at https://azlibrary.gov/libdev/arizona-center-book.

Material for the exhibit was developed by women’s history scholars, museum professionals, writers, designers and talented volunteers.

The mission of the Questers organization is to keep history alive through preservation and education. They have assigned regional coordinators to schedule the Questers Women’s Suffrage Exhibit and Speakers’ Bureau presentations.

For more information on these two public education programs, please contact Debbie Hansen, co-chair of AZ Questers Women’s Suffrage Centennial Project at deborahhansen44@gmail.com.