New York has always been at the forefront of women’s suffrage.

The first women’s rights convention in history was held in Seneca Falls in 1848, just 50 miles from Syracuse. And 100 short years ago, New York granted women the right to vote ahead of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

While it’s important we honor this history with programs, celebrations and gatherings across the state, we must acknowledge the struggles women endured to gain suffrage and let them inspire us to fight the oppression women still face. Pushing for equal rights in the future is the best way to honor women’s struggles of the past.

Andy Mendes | Digital Design Editor

Local, state and national organizations recognize the importance of taking historic celebrations beyond reflection, and look toward the future of women’s rights. New York created the New York Women’s Suffrage Commission, chaired by Lieutenant Gov. Kathy Hochul, to organize events across the state through 2020. The commission’s events commemorate the centennial of New York women’s suffrage and the passage of the 19th Amendment.

“We are using these three years to talk about how we can move women forward over the next 100 years,” Hochul said. “As issues like harassment in the workplace, equal pay and reproductive health grab national headlines, it’s time for New York to lead once again.”

The League of Women Voters in New York is co-sponsoring art and historical exhibits and conferences. The league hopes these events will commemorate New York women’s suffrage and provide spaces for women to come together and plan future advocacy efforts, Jennifer Wilson, the league’s program and policy director, said in an email.

The Women’s Rights National Historical Park has also organized events throughout the year in partnership with the Susan B. Anthony House and Museum, the Bristol Valley Theatre and the Girl Scouts of New York-Pennsylvania Pathways, said Newton Rose, an interpretive ranger with the historical park.

Carol Faulkner, assistant dean and history professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, recognizes the complex history surrounding women’s suffrage — a history we shouldn’t overlook as we commemorate the centennial.

“One of the things the word ‘celebrate’ indicates is that it’s done, that it’s finished,” Faulkner said. “But, because the history is so much more complicated than that, it shows that we need to be attentive to our rights and to protect them because they’re not guaranteed.”

In reflecting on this history, we should acknowledge that some women suffered more than others on the path to suffrage, particularly minority women. In a culture in which sexism, racism, and classism are pervasive, we must approach the fight for women’s equality in the greater context of intersectional advocacy. We must continually ask ourselves, as Faulkner said: “How do we create equality more broadly, not just for women alone?”

Andy Mendes | Digital Design Editor

This move toward intersectional advocacy can be felt in some of the events marking the centennial. For instance, the Women’s Rights National Historical Park has drawn attention to the impact of Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois, culture on the early women’s rights movement. And, here on SU’s campus, the Humanities Center is sponsoring the event “Black Feminists and the Transformation of American Public Life” on Nov. 27.

While the centennial reminds us of how far we’ve come, we must also focus on what remains to be done. Women have yet to gain equal representation in U.S. politics, we are still working towards equal pay and we have yet to pass an equal rights amendment.

“We led the nation in pushing for women’s suffrage; that’s a great story. But, we also need to focus on the next chapter,” Hochul said. “When we celebrate the bicentennial in another 100 years, what will they say about the men and women in our time and what we contributed to the advancement of women?”

One of the most important ways we can make our voices heard in the promotion of gender equality is voting. The centennial falls on the day before local and state elections take place across the United States, so perhaps our best way to mark the anniversary is to exercise the precious right suffragists fought so hard for.

“Women had to endure struggles for decades to obtain the right to vote, and it is our responsibility on Election Day to honor that legacy by turning out and casting our vote,” Hochul said.

As we mark the centennial of New York women’s suffrage, let us remember the past while looking ahead. If we are to truly honor this history, we must do more than celebrate it. We must use this moment of reflection on the past to advocate for women’s rights now and for the future.

C.C. Hendricks is a doctoral student in composition and cultural rhetoric. Her column appears biweekly. You can reach her at crhen100@syr.edu.

Published on November 5, 2017 at 10:46 pm