Around 40 suffragists clad in the traditional white and purple colors of the original movement met near Long Beach City Hall to raise awareness and turn in their ballots on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021.
The group Long Beach Suffrage 100 put on the event to commemorate the 101st anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote in the United States.
“[The 19th Amendment anniversary] means a great deal to us because people sometimes take their right to vote for granted,” said Jane Hansen, a member of Long Beach Suffrage 100.
Before the suffragists walked to city hall, they took time to acknowledge many of the women that made history or impacted the city of Long Beach by saying their names and reading their biographies.
Many of the names are of female “firsts” in the city like Ruby Barham, who was the first woman to run for Long Beach City Council in 1927. Many were thanks to the Long Beach Historical Society, which has worked to find the hidden stories of women who have impacted the city.
The suffragists also talked about the importance of other legislation that they want to pass including the Equal Rights Amendment that has failed to be ratified since being originally passed by Congress in 1972.
“When women won the right to vote in 1920, it was only after seven decades of fighting and campaigning, and the fight continues,” Hansen said.
After the speeches, the group made their way to Long Beach City Hall where writer and activist Zoe Nicholson dropped her ballot for the gubernatorial recall election into the ballot dropbox.
Some of the attendees then boarded the Big Red Bus to give the suffragists a tour of the city and see some of the sites where women made their marks on the city.
“What really struck me [about suffrage] is that when women got the right to vote in 1920 it had a cascading effect over the following decades and led to other disenfranchised groups getting the right to vote,” Hansen said.
For many, the fight is not over. Joyce Hackett with the Long Beach Suffragists is especially concerned about recent voting restrictions that have been implemented in states like Georgia and Texas. She said that citizens must be “active and aware” of what is happening there.
In Photos:
A suffragist with Long Beach Suffrage 100 stands with her sign near Long Beach City Hall to raise awareness of women’s rights on Aug. 26, 2021. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune) 
Noelle Salgado (left) and Griselda Suárez (right) of Long Beach Suffrage 100 stand with their signs and flags near Long Beach City Hall to raise awareness of women’s rights on Aug. 26, 2021. (Richard H. Grant | Signal Tribune)
