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Maria Stewart
Maria Stewart began giving lectures and speeches to combat racism and sexism in Boston where she was ridiculed and threatened and eventually forced to relocate to New York. In New York, she kept attending anti-slavery conventions and teaching Black girls, yet despite her contributions to women’s rights, she was not included in the white feminist movement. -
The Declaration of Sentiments: follow up
Although the "Declaration of Sentiments" was ratified, the part containing women's right to vote was still being contested. With the support of abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the bill was signed by 68 women and 32 men. -
The Seneca Falls Convention
Held in Seneca Falls, New York, the convention was where Elizabeth Cady Stanton drafted a document modelled after the "Declaration of Independence" named the "Declaration of Sentiments" which called for women’s equality. Stanton mentioned Jefferson’s principles to talk about how they don’t include women. -
“Ain’t I a Woman” speech
Sojourner Truth, who was formerly enslaved gave the speech known as the “Ain’t I a Woman” speech where she demanded equal rights for women. Although she was campaigning for women's rights, white suffragists actually tried to stop her form speaking. -
Seneca Falls 25th Anniversary
1873 marked the beginning of the anniversary events held for the Seneca Falls Convention. Despite the significance of women being able to hold such an event, it cannot overshadow the fact that poor and Black women were very much excluded. -
History of Woman Suffrage
Written by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Matilda Joslyn Gage and Ida Husted Harper, the books are a series that contain a history of the women's suffrage movement in the United States and for all of its significance, it largely neglected the contributions of Black women to the movement -
WW1
The white suffragists gained momentum during World War 1 while Black women were left out of the campaigning to allow the movement to appeal to many white southerners. -
The 19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment stated that American women would have the right to vote by declaring that the sex of a voter cannot be used as criteria for voting eligibility. However, this right was not extended to racialized women, specifically Black women as it didn’t tackle the state laws that kept most Black Americans from voting such as poll taxes and literacy tests. -
The League of Women Voters
Black women talked about disenfranchisement at the League of Women Voters but the National Women’s Party and Alice Paul dismissed their struggles by claiming that disenfranchisement is a race issue not a women’s issue. -
Birth Control
Birth control was first approved allowing women to have the choice of when to have kids, if at all. Due to the awful history between doctors and Black people, many Black women feared that birth control was an attempt to limit Black population -
The Equal Pay Act
President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act which was meant to prohibit wage discrimination on account of sex. Despite the good intent, the execution was not great as there were plenty of loopholes and many women didn’t actually begin to make as much as their male counterparts—especially Black women. -
The Civil Rights Act
The act banned employment discrimination based on race, sex, religion, or national origin; it also limited the use of voter literacy tests. This was a long time coming for Black women and men and in theory got rid of the hurdles they had to face to vote. -
Title IX of the Education Amendments
It stated that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance." -
Roe v. Wade
The supreme court voted to protect a woman’s legal right to an abortion. -
The Overturning of Roe v. Wade
The overturning of Roe v. Wade affected everyone with a uterus, however those who were affected the most were Black women and poor women due to the system oppression they face. -
The Barbie Movie
The Barbie movie was praised for the feminism-related issues that it talked about, however, the story told was through a very white feminist lens. The complex stories of marginalized women were more or less completely ignored; even in a movie as "groundbreaking" as this, marginalized women weren't able to have their stories shared.