Tribute to Women Suffrage Movement Takes Place in Capitol on Women's Equality Day

Remembering Our Foremothers Delegation Leads
Ceremony Honoring Women's Right to Vote

Washington, DC - This past Friday, in a ceremony honoring the leaders of America's Women Suffrage Movement, the Remembering Our Foremothers Delegation and staff members of Rep. Louise M. Slaughter placed a wreath at the foot of the Pioneer Suffrage Statues in the Capitol Rotunda. The event took place on Women's Equality Day, and celebrated the 85^th anniversary of women's suffrage in the United States. The ceremony featured former leaders of the Move the Statue Campaign, the organization which succeeded in getting the suffrage monument placed in the Rotunda in 1997, and also included many individuals who are currently engaged in activities that encourage women to vote and ensure women's equality in our society.

"I'm very proud to have been a part of the Move the Statue Campaign," Rep. Slaughter said. "I wouldn't be here today were it not for the leaders of our nation's suffragist movement. This beautiful event was a fitting testament to their courage, commitment, and to the tremendous contribution they made to American society," she added.

Caroline Sparks, the leader of the Remembering Our Foremothers Delegation, was greatly enthusiastic about the day's events. "I worked for 12 years to move the suffrage monument from the basement of the Capitol to the Rotunda because it is important for women and men to view the leaders who secured voting rights for 51% of the U.S. population," she said.  "Until the suffrage monument was moved, no women were among the liberators represented in the Rotunda. It's not nice to put your forefathers in the living room and your foremothers in the basement," she added.  

Jackie Gentry, another member of the Delegation, was also focused on the importance of the monument. "Besides being a visible symbol of the courageous women who led the suffrage movement, the monument reminds all women and girls that they can participate fully in the electoral process in this country," she said. 

The proceedings will commence at 10:00 A.M.

Below is list of the members of the day's leading participants:

1) Caroline H. Sparks               Delegation leader and former co-chair of the Move the Statue Campaign

and the 75^th Anniversary of Women Suffrage Celebration

2) Amy Conroy                        Executive Director of the National Women's Party

3) Jacquelyn H. Gentry Move the Statue Campaign and past President of the Prince

                                                George's County Commission for Women

4) Deborah Horan                    Chairperson, Montgomery County MD Commission for Women

5) Gwen Keita                          Director, Women's Programs of the American Psychological Association

6) Afifa Klouj                           Move the Statue Campaign

7) Amy Mulry                         National Council of Women's Organizations

7) Julia Silva                             Past Chairperson, Montgomery County MD Commission for Women

8) Faye Seifert                          Move the Statue Campaign

Background

The "Portrait Monument" depicts Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott, three leaders of the suffragist movement.  For more than 70 years, the suffrage monument sat in the crypt of the Capitol.  In 1997, a resolution in Congress was passed to move the statue to a more prominent spot in the Rotunda.  This act was passed with the urging of many women's groups.  Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter spoke at one of the events celebrating this move.