Posts by amstrat

On March 3rd, 1913, a commotion arose outside the White House. A parade of 5,000 suffragists marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, hoping to draw the attention of Woodrow Wilson, whose presidential inauguration was scheduled for the following day [1]. However, thousands of people who were in town for the inauguration crowded the parade route. Some of…

On March 3, 1913, the eve of Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration, Ida B. Wells-Barnett was in a Washington, D.C. drill rehearsal hall with sixty-four other Illinois suffragists. She was there representing the Alpha Suffrage Club (ASC)– which she had founded as the first black suffrage club in Chicago just two months before. Ida planned to march…

It seems hard to believe that there was a time when American women were not able to participate in democracy. The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified by 36 states and made law in 1920, finally gave women in the United States the right to vote, though women of color would still face barriers…

Black women are the Democrats’ most reliable voting bloc. Here’s how Joe Biden can win them over in the 2020 election, according to LaTosha Brown, co-founder of Black Voters Matter; Tiffany D. Cross, political analyst and author; Brittany Packnett Cunningham, activist, educator and writer; Alicia Garza, principal of Black Futures Lab and host of the…

Sean “Diddy” Combs, Will Packer and Doug E. Fresh come to the defense of Sen. Kamala Harris and push openly for a Black woman running mate. Read more at Essence.com.

For over 13 years, the high school teacher and mother of two has been active in Democratic politics. She always preferred to serve in supportive, behind the scenes roles. In addition to volunteering for community organizations in her rural community of Berkeley County, S.C., her political resume also includes time spent as deputy secretary and…

More than half a century before Sen. Kamala D. Harris was named Joe Biden’s running mate Tuesday, another Black woman from California took the stage at a Chicago convention to make a decisive declaration. Read more at MSN.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot has repeatedly ordered Chicago’s river bridges raised to keep people out of downtown. She said the move was to protect businesses and residents. But it is also a symbol of the city’s divisions. Read more at Pro Publica.

We now know that the COVID-19 pandemic is disproportionately harming the elderly and people of color. But, with the November 2020 election just around the corner, without action these voices could be lost. Voting by mail ensures equitable access for people, regardless of age, race, or socio-economics. Unfortunately, vote-by-mail applications can only be filled-out online…

Historian Carol Anderson traces the evolution of voter suppression tactics, from poll taxes and literacy tests instituted after the passage of the 15th Amendment to the rise of strict voter ID laws and poll closures after the election of America’s first Black president. Anderson argues voter suppression is rooted in white supremacy and White rage.…