Author: Amy Lannon

Women’s Equality Day is Wednesday August 26
RPL is celebrating Women’s Equality Day! On August 26, 1920, the 19th amendment, which had been ratified by 3/4 of the states, was certified with the signature of U.S. Secretary of State, Benjamin Colby, and the seal of the United States.

On August 26, as part of The Vote grant, we have several displays and events to celebrate Women’s Equality Day

RPL commissioned a poem, titled Mothers of my Mother, by Nancy Genevieve Kohl to celebrate the day, you can read the poster-sized poem and click on a QR code to see and hear it read by the author.
We have two fantastic art installation pieces inspired by Representative Shirley Chisholm quote “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair”. The first is a community created chair garden in front of the studio. It’s comprised of many vote-decorated doll-sized chairs handed out as part of the Children’s Room Weekend Wonder Bags program
Second, there is a staff created chair display representing voting rights issues for selected populations. Come admire the creativity of your colleagues.

We’ve also got historical displays, filling out the details on the suffrage movement and a fantastic Pop-up Library Spot from 3:30pm – 5:30pm dedicated to materials related to voting rights.

Wednesday evening wraps up with a virtual author visit from Jen Deaderick. With her book, She the People: A Graphic History of Uprisings, Breakdowns, Setbacks, Revolts, and Enduring Hope on the Unfinished Road to Women’s Equality, Jen takes us through a lively history of the U.S. through the lens of women’s equality – register for this Zoom event now, books available here and ebooks here.
These programs are funded by Mass Humanities’ “The Vote” grant initiative, a statewide conversation about voting rights.