INSPIRING WOMEN PORTFOLIO was created in celebration of the centennial anniversary of the 19th Amendment. The women featured here are from many time periods, all possessing a radical spirit of creating change in the world. The portfolio was printed during the 2020 Covid19 Pandemic and was organized by Kathryn Hunter, Blackbird Letterpress. May these women continue to inspire as the uncertain future unfolds.
On August 18, 1920, the US Constitution’s 19th Amendment was ratified—declaring no citizen could be denied the right to vote based on their sex. For more than 100 years, women’s suffrage supporters had fought for this right among others, including equal pay and access to education. However, the racially divided movement did not address the intersecting inequalities of race, class, and ethnicity. Intimidation, laws, fraud, and violence blocked women of color from voting. The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted voting rights, but many states denied this right to Indigenous women through the 1950s. Black women faced barriers until the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As we acknowledge the movement’s flaws, we also celebrate all women who organized, marched, and risked their lives to bring the US closer to universal suffrage. Their efforts gave women the chance to politically, socially, culturally, and economically transform this country.
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Participants:
This list corresponds to the above images left to right by rows.
- Susan B Anthony – Jessica Peterson • The Southern Letterpress
- Daisy Bates – Kate Askew with Perrion Hurd Yella Dog Press & Hurd Wired Studios
- Shirley Chisholm – Nancy Hill • Hazel and Violet
- Eugenie Clark – Yuka Petz • Letter Box Studio
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg – Tammy Winn • The Red Door Press
- Joy Harjo – Kelly McMahon • May Day Studio
- Frances Ellen Watkins Harper – Allison Chapman • Igloo Letterpress
- Anita Hill – Kathryn Hunter • Blackbird Letterpress
- Grace Hopper – Shelley Barandes • Albertine Press
- Molly Ivins – Dori Boone with April Bryant • Side Track Press
- Marsha P. Johnson – Allison and Jamie Nadeau • INK MEETS PAPER
- Flo Kennedy – Lynda Sherman with Leigh Riibe • Bremelo Press
- Sister Corita Kent – Rachael Hetzel • Pistachio Press
- Patsy Takemoto Mink – Mandolin Brassaw • Grapheme
- May Morris – Masy Chighizola • Press Relief
- Lucretia Mott – Sarah McCoy • The Permanent Collection
- Pauli Murray – Jessica Spring & Chandler O’Leary Dead Feminists at Springtide Press
- Susan O’Malley – Stephanie Carpenter Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum
- Michelle Obama – Molly Douma Brewer • Ice Pond Press
- Sylvia Rivera – Kadin Henningsen • Meanwhile…Letterpress
- Eleanor Roosevelt – Cathy Smith • Boxcar press
- Janet Rowley – Jennifer Farrell • Starshaped Press
- Nina Simone – Kyle Durrie • Power and Light Press
- Ida B Wells – Ben Blount • MAKE Studio
- Judy Woodruff – Kseniya Thomas • Thomas Printers