The Newport Historical Society is pleased to co-sponsor an event celebrating 95 years of women and the vote, organized by the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island and the Preservation Society of Newport County. The event is free and open to the public.
The celebration will take place on the terrace of Marble House, on August 26, at 11 a.m. Marble House, at 596 Bellevue Avenue, is the Newport home of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, noted suffragist. August 26 marks the 95th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
The event will feature invited speakers who will read excerpts from important speeches and documents written by suffragists and reflect on the importance of the vote. Former Representative Donna Walsh, retired Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Judith Colenback Savage, and LWVRI board member and author Marian Styles-McClintock will be among the readers. Poet Amber Rose Johnson will read a poem written especially to mark the occasion. A musical interlude and a re-enactment of a “Votes for Women” march will complete the event.
Women marched, suffered ridicule and imprisonment, and underwent forced feeding during this battle to win the right to vote. Beginning in 1909, Alva Vanderbilt Belmont held summer suffrage meetings at Marble House to raise funds and support women suffrage. By the listening to the words of the those involved, the celebration will remind us of women’s long and difficult struggle to gain their right to vote in America.
League members are encouraged to wear white (either modern dress or period costume). A limited number of the traditional, purple, gold, and white suffragists sashes will be available for those who wish to participate in the march. Reservations are not required, but to help plan for the event, please RSVP to the Preservation Society of Newport County by emailing info@newportmansions.org. If you have further questions or wish to participate in the “Votes for Women” march, contact Patty MacLeish (e-mail pmacleish@verizon.net or call 401-846-7542).
Image credit: League of Women Voters of Rhode Island