Knoxville celebrates the 90th anniversary of women rocking the vote.By Alexandra Hruz
On August 18, 1920, Harry Burn, a young politician representing McMinn County, sat in the Tennessee General Assembly with a letter from his mother resting in his pocket. In the letter, Burns’ mother, Febb Ensminger, encouraged her son to vote in favor of ratification of the 19th amendment by admonishing him with the words “Don’t forget to be a good boy...vote for suffrage.” He did. And Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th amendment, making it the deciding state on the issue.
To mark the 90th anniversary of this landmark event, the Knoxville League of Women Voters will hold a press conference on Saturday, August 7 at Market Square announcing the winner of the “Making Democracy Work” award. In honor of the anniversary, we caught up League of president Jamey Dobbs, to find out how far women have come — and how far we have to go.
Q: How far have women come since earning the right to vote?
A: Pretty far but not far enough. My mother remembers when it was illegal for her to obtain a loan in her own name. And that was in the ‘60s — not so long ago. But we’ve obviously made great strides since then. Those are the types of things that [younger] women take for granted.
Q: How far do women still have to go?
A: Women only make 70 cents on the dollar per every dollar that men make. I think younger women are leading the way because they have a different expectation — they haven’t known any other way. But I think the glass ceiling effect is certainly still there. Women are increasingly infiltrating male-dominated professions, but it can still be hard for them to advance as quickly as men. It’s a very frustrating thing that hinders women’s earning potential by tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars over their lifetime.
Q: What role do you see the League playing in the continuation of the women’s agenda?
A: One of the things I’m most proud of is our donation to the women’s history curriculum. Students didn’t even know their own heritage. We made a tremendous contribution to the awareness of the fight. We purchased a women’s history DVD for every school and every public library in Knox County. Because of that [the curriculum], the social studies coordinator for Knox County Schools is pulling together a committee to develop a proposal for a women’s studies course for Knox County students, which would be tremendous.
Q: What would you suggest younger generations do to help further the cause of women’s rights?
A: Get involved in organizations. Don’t be afraid to go to a meeting, even if you don’t know anybody. You’re sure to meet people in the group that will reach out to you and help you along. And even if they don’t right away, you can learn a lot by just observing and listening. As in most organizations, volunteers are always welcome.
By Lindsey Hughes
