Hutchins Library News Blog

Rightfully Hers Popup Exhibit Celebrates Women's Suffrage Centennial at Hutchins Library

Post by Timothy Binkley, Head of Special Collections and Archives,

If you have walked into Hutchins Library lately, you are likely to have noticed something new in the foyer. It is a temporary “popup” display produced by the National Archives and Records Administration and the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission (WSCC). These organizations are partnering with Berea College Special Collections and Archives to share the story of women’s fight for their right to vote in the United States.

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote explores the history of the ratification of the 19th Amendment and the state of voting rights before and after the women’s suffrage movement. Consisting of four panels of images, insights, and quotations, the popup exhibit will be on view in the Hutchins Library foyer August 14 to December 14, 2020. The full museum exhibit in Washington, D.C. can be viewed online at https://museum.archives.gov/rightfully-hers.

Concerning the exhibit, curator Corinne Porter noted that: “Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment provides an unparalleled opportunity to elevate the untold stories of women’s history.” “The exhibit at the National Archives and the Rightfully Hers popups are part of our nationwide initiative to share the story of the relentless struggle of diverse activists throughout U.S. history to secure voting rights for all American women.”

The National Archives is an independent federal agency that serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving the records of our Government, so people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. The WSCC was formed by the U.S. Congress to coordinate the nationwide commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment, which was officially ratified and signed into the Constitution on August 26, 1920. The National Archives’ Rightfully Hers popup display is presented by the WSCC, Unilever, Pivotal Ventures, Carl M. Freeman Foundation in honor of Virginia Allen Freeman, AARP, Denise Gwyn Ferguson, and the National Archives Foundation.

May this temporary exhibit remind every Berean that voting is an important right and responsibility.

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Exhibit can be viewed inside the library during library regular hours. Due to COVID-19 at this point in time, only those with campus card ID access can enter the building. The exhibit will be on view through December 14, 2020.