The 100th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment’s ratification provides an occasion to reflect on the history of women’s voting rights in the United States. But rather than celebrate, we should commemorate the event by reflecting on a process that is far more complicated — and incomplete — than popular mythology about suffrage suggests. Here are some myths and realities about women’s suffrage.
The Finger Lakes region of New York is a great vacation spot, with scenery, wineries, and a relaxed vibe. The area also played a critical role in women’s history, specifically women’s suffrage, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. In July 1993, I traveled to Seneca Falls with my husband, Tom Shaffer, and my mom, Florence Thompson, to participate in the opening of the Women’s Rights National Historical Park Visitors Center.
Passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, ratified on August 18, 1920, and taking effect on August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment granted women the right to vote in all elections. But women of color are often erased from the suffrage story, and their influence and contributions remain unacknowledged.
Named in honor of Harriet Tubman, Harriett’s Bookshop in Philadelphia celebrates women authors and artists. But the shop’s owner, writer and activist Jeannine Cook, does more than just sell books. Cook is deeply embedded in her community. She organized a book drive for essential workers during the pandemic and curated material for local educators. During the George Floyd protests, she gave away books about anti-racism to marchers. On Saturday, August 22, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Swarthmore resident (and Swarthmorean associate editor) Satya Nelms will host a sidewalk sale for Harriett’s in Swarthmore.
The Community Arts Center (CAC) will present its eighth annual Tie-Dye Music Festival on Saturday, August 29 (RAIN DATE: Sunday, August 30), from 5 to 8 p.m. This is a free, outdoor, family event.
This column last ran on July 3, under the headline “Solstice Stillness” and bemoaned the relative lack of wildlife activity — or at least any observations beyond the usual suspects (robins, gray squirrels, sparrows, etc.) during the hot months. The reduced number of observation submissions to the Swarthmorean in July bore this out. But over the last week, two submissions arrived with first-time critter sightings: a snapping turtle and an American eel! Let’s hope this marks a continuing upturn as we slowly but surely approach the fall migration.
The evidence is incontrovertible – I’m unreliable, faint-hearted, inept. My wife, Mary, on the other hand, is exceptional. Her superb qualities are myriad, but I will linger over just three – her brainpower, her beatific nature, and her good hair. And it is here, where – against all odds – I become the hero of this little photo-essay.
All-virtual school until October. That recommendation from Wallingford-Swarthmore School Superintendent Lisa Palmer was accepted by the school board at a special meeting on Monday night. The vote was 7-1, with Chapin Cimino abstaining. Board member Jennifer Lentz voted against the proposal. Three weeks earlier, on July 20, the board voted to give families the option of attending school two days a week (“the cohort model”) or having all virtual instruction (“the online academy”). 73% of high school students and 67% of middle and elementary school students had opted to return to school buildings when the school year begins on August 31. But COVID-19 numbers have increased in Delaware County since July.
Swarthmore architect Samina Iqbal attended the Swarthmore Human Relations Commission (HRC) meeting on August 6 to raise the commission’s awareness of accessibility issues in the borough. Iqbal described the slow history of increasing accessibility in the United States, and the disabled community’s frustrations with how little progress has been made in the 30 years since the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act. She described her family’s challenges navigating the public world with her husband, Tony Denninger, in a wheelchair.
Sometimes I remember our Queen Anne, built on a corner in Swarthmore in the 1890s. But now that I’ve been in Hartland, Vermont, for nearly five months, marooned by COVID-19, I often forget all about the house.
As we slog through this dark time, there are also moments of light: the cardinal in the tree, the child’s chalk drawing on the sidewalk, the sight of my neighbor — hospitalized for over a month with COVID-19 — walking swiftly around the block. The rare face-to-face talk with a friend, with six feet of grass between us.
The price Black folks pay for living in an all-Black community is underfunded education, poor housing stock, a lot of Dollar Stores, pollution, and receivership. Yet folks would rather put up with all that than to live beside neighbors who don’t want them there. That type of neighbor gathered up their motorcycles, pickup trucks, confederate flags, and surely their guns, to harass a Black Lives Matter march going through Ridley Township earlier this month.
“One day, about seven years ago, we found ourselves looking at each other in frustration in our too-quiet house.” That’s how Swarthmoreans Julie Mayer and Barry Jacobs, both clinical psychologists, begin their new book, “Love and Meaning After 50: The 10 Challenges to Great Relationships — and How to Overcome Them.” After their children left for college, Mayer and Jacobs found themselves “feeling older and unsure about what should come next.” They began to reassess their marriage and find new ways to connect. This book, they say, is their attempt to help others do the same.
“The demand of Black Americans is clear: ‘Stop killing us.’” This assertion by state senator and Swarthmore resident Tim Kearney (D-26) framed a July 28 Zoom discussion on ending systemic racism and reimagining public safety. Attended by about 80 people, the conversation was part of a “racial equity tour” sponsored by the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic caucus and co-hosted by Kearney and State Senator Anthony Williams (D-8). Swarthmore resident and civil rights lawyer Jonathan Feinberg and Swarthmorean contributor Stefan Roots, among others, also participated.
Swarthmore tends to be quieter in the summer, especially in August. College students are away; neighbors head north for respite from the heat and humidity; families take advantage of the break in the school year. But this summer’s quiet feels different.
Disruptions to vacation travel certainly aren’t the most momentous or profound changes wrought by the pandemic, but they’re one of the more insidious ways our sense of normalcy has been chipped away at. We are lucky enough to live in a town (a phrase that I seem to be uttering more and more) where, at least according to our latest survey, 100% of the people usually go away on vacation in the summer. This year, that’s down to 64% (with 8% still not sure).
“I have an elderly mother and a teenaged driver.” “School buses come down our street, which is very tight as it is.” “It’s very difficult when I get home after work and I can’t park my car.” These were some of the frustrations residents of School Lane in Swarthmore expressed at the July 27 meeting of the borough council’s Public Safety Committee. New construction of five homes on Michigan Avenue in Ridley, just across the street, has brought a glut of construction vehicles to their narrow, one-block road. These often park illegally, blocking sight lines and even driveways.
Bill Hale was selected to succeed Maria Zissimos as president of the Rotary Club of Swarthmore. Since retiring, he has devoted himself to volunteerism and community service. Mike Litka, General Manager of the Swarthmore Co-op, and Anita Barrett, Swarthmore Town Center Coordinator were named Vocational Service Award winners. Donna Francher is the Community Service awardee.
A couple of Fridays ago, my daughter Charlie and I took a daring paddle on the terrifying and legendary Crum Creek — a harrowing 45-minute effort. We put in right above the Strath Haven Coulee Dam off Yale Avenue and fought the swift current back upstream. Multitudes of turtles guarded the banks, and shadowy fish darted fearlessly in the shallows. Past snags and sieves we maneuvered, watching each other’s six, conscious of many reports of the attack beaver waiting to ambush intruders.
Neighbors from Swarthmore and surrounding areas made their way to Umoja Park for a rally and march in support of Black lives. The rally was held on July 19 in part to commemorate the July 16 birthday of Ida B. Wells and her life-long commitment to activism, abolition, and education. Amy Beth Sisson, writer and former attorney, spoke about Swarthmore’s intimate history with racism, from segregated schools to discriminatory policies at the swim club. She left the crowd with these words: “We need to own our considerable history of racism, so that we can do better.”
