Several upcoming events in South Dakota will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote.
"Her Vote. Her Voice," a collaboration between the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation and the Women's Vote Centennial Delegation appointed by Gov. Kristi Noem, began planning the celebration last year.
Two signature events will be held statewide in the coming weeks to celebrate women's suffrage in South Dakota, as well as a podcast series, new books and a fundraising campaign to coincide with the anniversary.
Many people aren't aware that this year is the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote, said delegation Co-Chair Tracy Saathoff of Sioux Falls.
"But knowing that it plays a pivotal role in American history, along with women's contributions to South Dakota and the nation as a whole, it's something that deserves to stand apart and gain recognition so people can remember that," Saathoff said.
The 19th Amendment was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920 and was signed into law on Aug. 26, 1920.
More: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem among influential Women of the Century from Mount Rushmore State
South Dakota was one of the first states to ratify the 19th Amendment on Dec. 4, 1919. The attempts to allow women to vote in South Dakota dates back to pre-statehood. The first women's suffrage campaign began in 1872 and the first attempt at a women's suffrage state amendment occurred in 1890, according to the University of South Dakota. Six attempts failed to give women the right to vote in all elections prior to the 19th Amendment. A 1918 state constitutional amendment gave women the right to vote in state elections.
Although the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote, it would be decades until Native American women could vote in the state. A state law preventing Native Americans from voting remained on the books in South Dakota until 1951.
Signature events
A virtual Centennial Celebration launch will take place at 7 p.m. CT Aug. 18 on hervotehervoice.org to share the suffrage story and the work Her Vote. Her Voice is doing to preserve the stories.
A statewide virtual toast will be broadcast on TV and online in conjunction with the national commemoration "Forward into the Light" at 10:20 p.m. CT Aug. 26. Landmarks around the country will be lit in the suffrage movement's colors of purple and gold and Saathoff said they're encouraging communities in South Dakota to light their monuments and buildings in the colors. Falls Park in Sioux Falls is expected to be lit in the suffrage movement's colors that night.
They've also partnered with businesses and colleges in South Dakota for 19th Amendment-related products and programming this month.
They were originally planning events for more than 500 attendees in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City to commemorate the 19th Amendment, but that had to go by the wayside due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Saathoff said.
More: The Backstory: A look at the 19th Amendment, the women who've continued the fight for equality, and why the work is far from finished.
Fundraiser
March is Women's History Month and the delegation has a goal of raising $1 million on hervotehervoice.org between March 2020 and March 2021 to preserve women's history in South Dakota. They're also hosting a statewide Honor Wall on the website where people can honor a woman who has made an impact on their lives.
The money will go toward preserving women's historical artifacts at the State Archives. Saathoff said she was surprised to learn how few women's artifacts the state has and that's because many items that would normally be considered artifacts, such as a wedding dress, were passed down generation to generation and changed from a dress to other clothing items as needed over the years. She encourages people to donate women's items to the Historical Society if they find them while cleaning out family members' possessions.
The funding will also go toward a three-year oral history project to catalog stories about South Dakota. Sixty percent of those stories will be about women's contributions to the state, Saathoff said. While there's many men's stories about South Dakota, there's a shortage of them in the Archives, she said.
It'll also go toward awareness about women's stories about suffrage and their impact on South Dakota.
"So many of women's contributions started when they got the vote and really recognized that they had a standalone voice and were able to lift up and champion for the causes they really cared about," she said.
More: Women of the Century: Six trailblazing women to share personal stories in special event
'Radical' women
A podcast series will launch on Aug. 19 called "How Radical" that will include speakers discussing women's suffrage, and women changemakers in the state and how they relate to the suffrage story.
The state Historical Society has spent the last few years compiling a three-book series published by the Historical Society Press.
The first two books, "Born Criminal" by Angelica Shirley Carpenter and "Equality at the Ballot Box" edited by Lori Ann Lahlum and Molly Rozum, were published in 2018 and 2019. The final book, "The Voice of Liberty" by Carpenter, will be published this fall.
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August 14, 2020 at 08:37PM
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Statewide toast to 100th anniversary of women's right to vote planned for Aug. 26 - Argus Leader
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