The 19th

99 years ago this week, on June 4th, 1919, Congress approved/proposed the 19th Amendment which would grant women the right to vote (ratification was complete over a year later on August 19, 1920). Seeing pictures like this will never cease to inspire and remind me just how important voting is in this country.

As monumental as this was in our nation’s history, it’s important to remember that Jim Crow laws were in full swing during this time; which predominantly prohibited Black voters and other poor Americans from exercising their constitutional rights, through mechanisms like literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and poll taxes. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that these horrible laws were actually made illegal.

We are entering primary election season, and regardless of where you live or whether you believe your vote can make a difference, please vote!! There are very few things as important as exercising this constitutional right.

[Picture: Library of Congress]⠀⠀⠀⠀