Occoquan underscores 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment

Celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment peak this week.

Hopefully many of you have noticed the proclamation posted in Town designating August 18th Women’s Suffrage Day in Occoquan.

An initiative of Councilmembers Holloway and Fithian, the Town Council unanimously approved the proclamation at its meeting on August 4th and promptly had it posted.

The 18th marked the centennial of when Tennessee ratified the amendment, thus meeting the legal threshold for its subsequent implementation nationwide.
This Wednesday, August 26, will be the centennial of when the amendment officially became a part of the United States Constitution.

As many of you probably know, our area is intimately linked with the struggle for women’s suffrage. It was nearby at what was then known as the Occoquan Workhouse (later Lorton prison and now the Workhouse Arts Center) that some of the women who in 1917 protested at the White House on behalf of women’s suffrage were imprisoned.

They were mistreated during their imprisonment, which made its way into the press, and after their release some of the women went on a speaking tour. This incident and its aftermath helped galvanize support for their cause and ultimately contributed to the passage of the 19th amendment giving women the right to vote in the United States.

Today the Workhouse Arts Center houses the Lucy Burns Museum, where one can learn about the struggle of the women imprisoned there.

Additionally, the Turning Points Suffragist Memorial Association is fundraising for a memorial dedicated to women’s suffrage to be located at Occoquan Regional Park.

Of course, there are a variety of events and displays in the Washington metropolitan area commemorating the centennial. Union Station, for example, is the site of a photo mosaic of suffragist and civil rights leader Ida Wells made up of smaller images of suffragists.

And on Wednesday, the 26th, landmarks around the USA will be lit up in purple and gold, the colors of the National Women’s Party. If you are interested in more information on this important commemoration and events associated with it you can find out more at womensvote100.org.