The Fight for Equality – Commemorating the Contributions of Women Throughout History

Women in America first collectively organized in 1848 at the First Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, now home to the Women’s Rights National Historical Park. This meeting sparked the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the fight for voting rights.  

While the 19th Amendment was ratified and signed into law in 1920, many women of color were still unable to exercise their right to vote. Though these women rallied alongside white suffragists, many women of color remained disenfranchised until the mid-20th century: Native American women (1924); Chinese American women (1943); and Japanese and other Asian American women (1952). As late as 1962, some states still prevented women of color from voting on contrived obstacles, such as literacy tests, poll taxes, voting ID requirements, intimidation and claims regarding the legitimacy of residence. It was not until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 45 years after the enactment of the 19th Amendment, that Black women were able to exercise this right without restrictions. 

Home to the National Women’s Party for more than 90 years, this was the epicenter of the struggle for women's rights. In this headquarters, the National Woman's Party continued the fight for women's social, political, and economic equality beyond the vote. The National Women’s Party lobbied for legislation, supported women running for office, worked for international rights for women and fought for the passage and ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The organization ceased its political activism when it became an educational nonprofit in 1997. 

Today, the 200-year-old historic house operates as a museum dedicated to telling the stories of U.S. women’s suffrage and equal rights movements.  

The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site stands as a reminder of Bethune’s civil rights work, the first headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and the legacy of many African American women who have shaped American History and fought for equality.  

The NCNW spearheaded strategies and developed programs that advanced the interests of African American women. One key goal of the NCNW was to end feelings of isolation among African American women and inspire them to feel connected to a national community with shared concerns and objectives. To achieve this, NCNW published a quarterly magazine, The Aframerican Woman's Journal (later renamed Women United) and a monthly newsletter, Telefact.  

In May, Secretary Haaland announced that the National Park Service launched a new women’s history virtual exhibition, “Home and Homelands,” that explores how women have made, claimed and fought for their homes and shaped American history throughout the Pacific West. 

While the 19th Amendment made it unconstitutional to deny voting on the basis of sex, millions of women in the West and Pacific remained disenfranchised alongside the men of their communities because they were not fully recognized as American citizens.