Claiming Our Seats: A Kitchen Table Dialogue on Women's Voting Rights

Date: 

Wednesday, September 25, 2019, 6:00pm to 8:30pm

Location: 

Main Library Lecture Hall, 449 Broadway, Cambridge MA

(See event flyer here)

Join us for a thought-provoking roundtable discussion on the upcoming centennial of 19th Amendment.

About this Event

August 2020 will mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, when women won the right to vote. During this discussion we will ask: which women?

Dr. Jennifer GuglielmoReverend Irene Monroe, and Dr. Laurie Nsiah-Jefferson will engage us in a reflective dialogue about women’s rights across the 20th and 21st centuries, moderated by Andrea Asuaje.

Despite the 19th Amendment's passage, barriers remained in place for many women, particularly immigrant women and women of color. How has this shifted since 1920, and what challenges do women still confront in gaining full citizenship? Building on the scholarship of Black feminist Barbara Smith and the Cambridge/Boston-based Combahee River Collective, we bring a historical lens to this anniversary and discuss how the kitchen table has served as an alternative space for women—especially women of color and working-class women from all backgrounds—to gather and exchange ideas about women’s rights in the U.S. We invite you to join us at our 21st-century kitchen table to reflect, discuss, and share your thoughts about the 19th Amendment and how it has shaped both our nation and local Cambridge community since 1920.

6:00 PM - Light refreshments. 6:30 PM - Program start.

Hosted by:

  • Cambridge Civic Unity Committee, Chair E. Denise Simmons
  • Office of the City Manager, Louis A. DePasquale
  • Cambridge Historical Society
  • Cambridge Public Library
  • 22-CityView
  • Cambridge Commission on the Status of Women
  • Cambridge Historical Commission
  • Cambridge Public Schools

Free and open to the public!
Register now @ camb.ma/ClaimASeat