Thread by @TeamKamala

Today, we honor #WomensEqualityDay & the movement that helped adopt the #19thAmendment into the U.S. Constitution 100 years ago. We’re thankful for the countless women who paved the way, while we acknowledge that too often Black women were erased from their role in this progress.

Black women, in particular, faced racism and violence that kept them from voting.
nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/0…

Black women actively worked to fight for their right to vote.

There were even suffrage schools for Black women who could prepare for a chance to register by studying how to pay poll taxes and how to take a literacy test.
washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/…

Leaders like Mary McLeod Bethune registered & mobilized Black voters that soon outnumbered that of white voters and in the fall the KKK marched on Bethune’s boarding school for Black girls.

smithsonianmag.com/history/mary-m…

We grapple with the fact that while the #19thAmendment opened the doors for some women, voting rights obstacles for Black women remained.

As we honor the progress we’ve made, we acknowledge just how much further we’ve to go.

In 2020, Black communities continue to face barriers to voting — we must take action to ensure that democracy is accessible for all.

Because of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.
Because of Mary Ann Shadd Cary.
Because of Mary Church Terrell.
Because of Nannie Helen Burroughs.
Because of Ida B. Wells.
Because of countless unsung heroes.

Women can vote. But the fight continues.