Forward Into Light: Greenville celebrates centennial of women’s right to vote

It took roughly 70 years and risk of arrest, imprisonment and other harms to self and family among many early suffragists. But ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote finally came Aug. 18, 1920. Furman University Assistant Professor of History Courtney Tollison ’99  spoke to Anna Lee of the Greenville Journal about the role local women played in the amendment’s passage.

The formal proclamation of the win came Aug. 26, 1920. The 100-year anniversary of that event will be commemorated by lighting key buildings and landmarks with the colors of the suffrage movement – purple, gold and white – on Wednesday, Aug. 26. From 8:15 p.m.-10:30 p.m., the bell tower and Duke Library will be draped in the symbolic colors in observance of the national campaign “Forward Into Light.” At 8:30 p.m. on the Duke Library steps, students will read excerpts from the 19th Amendment and quotes from leaders in the women’s suffrage movement.