Where Will You Be Standing?

On June 17, 2008, I donned the most 1914 looking white outfit I could find in my closet and made my way with 2 other suffragettes to the Ohio State House. Of course, we had modern amenities along the way but it was like reliving a brief moment in time that occurred over 90 years ago.

On June 17, 2008, the Ladies' Gallery at the Ohio State House formally opened its doors. Prior to the grand opening celebration, suffragettes, dressed in white, along with some male supporters lined the State House steps just as they did in 1914. The 88 County Flags were flying in the wind under a beautiful blue sky.

One of the press releases describes the event. It states, "today's dedication took place 89 years to the week after Ohio was the sixth state to ratify the 19th Amendment on June 16, 1919, giving women the right to vote. Ohio's General Assembly ratified the amendment only 12 days after the proposal was sent to the states by Congress. The amendment passed the Ohio House 76 – 6 and the Ohio Senate 27 – 3. The Ladies' Gallery is a place of honor and learning in the Ohio Statehouse. The room pays tribute to Ohio's first six women legislators who paved the way for women in government. The room also honors all women who have served in the Ohio General Assembly. ... Prior to the dedication, hundreds of men and women gathered on the front steps of the Statehouse to celebrate the dedication of the Ladies' Gallery and Ohio's ratification of the 19th Amendment. The moment was captured with a contemporary photograph that aimed to re-enact the historic Women's Suffrage rally held on these same Statehouse steps 94 years earlier in 1914 when 5,000 Ohio women and men marched for suffrage. Many of the participants wore white just as they did in the original 1914 suffragette gathering. Each of Ohio's 88 counties was represented with their county flag. The photo will become part of the permanent display in the Ladies' Gallery." Some photos can be found at http://www.ohiochannel.org/your_state/ohio_statehouse/multimedia/photo_galleries/search_02.cfm?collection_id=107849&search_mode=Browse.

So, for a brief moment in time, I was able to pretend that I was a suffragette standing on the steps of the State House amongst many others united for the Cause. It is somewhat odd to realize that you never know when you will become a part of history. It is somewhat more overwhelming to realize that you can change history. The suffragettes changed history. BPW changed history.

BPW was at the forefront of “Women Helping Women”. BPW was established by a grant from the U.S. War Department. When the United States of America mobilized for World War I in early 1917, the government found that women were organized into religious or cultural and fraternal groups, but not as an overall business and professional group. Therefore, the War Work Council was established by the War Department to further the war effort of women; it was guided principally by executives of the YWCA and financed through an allocation of $65,000, from the government war funds.

By March 1919 the National Business Women’s Committee was ready to call for a meeting of delegates from the states at a national convention, with the objective of founding a permanent national organization. By the third and final day of the Convention, the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs was formed and adopted a constitution. The new Federation came out of its first convention with a solid record of accomplishment. It had:
1. urged the opening of all Civil Service examinations to women as well as to men
2. asked that official rank be given to all nurses who had served in the World War
3. endorsed the principles of both a Federal and a State Employment Service
4. and, recommended that the Federation tabulate all possible information regarding working conditions for women.

What will we do? Although, we struggle with higher prices, ecomonic down turns, single incomes, less time, more work, our resources are so much vaster than in 1914 or 1919. But, what are we doing to take our permanent place in history? I do believe it is ours to take. Where will you be standing? Go, go go.