Collaboration is Key to Telling the Story of Women's Suffrage and the 19th Amendment

A woman writes ideas for improvement and collaboration on the posters for Baltimore Heritage Area and the Lillie Jackson Civil Rights Museum.

Peter Samuel / NPS

Fort McHenry, Baltimore MD (January 7, 2020) –

In mid-December, 19 organizations gathered at Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine to participate in a National Park Service-led workshop focused on issues related to women’s suffrage and the 19^th Amendment. The workshop, titled “Sharing Women’s History in Baltimore,” brought together a rich variety of representatives from museums, colleges, universities, historical organizations, and other groups in the Baltimore area. Hosted by the Baltimore National Heritage Area, the all-day workshop provided an excellent opportunity for people to share information about the programs and projects they are undertaking to highlight issues surrounding American women’s suffrage and the 19^th amendment and their relationship to Baltimore and its history.

Initiated and organized by the National Park Service’s History and Preservation Assistance Program in the Philadelphia office of the Northeast Region, the session was facilitated by the region’s Program Manager Bonnie Halda, with support from Catherine Turton and Rebecca Flemer. Turton and Flemer both work directly on the 19^th Amendment Centennial Commemoration for the park service.

Leading up to the workshop, participants were asked to prepare a presentation about a 19^th amendment-related project they are planning or implementing. Once these were presented, Bonnie Halda, acting as the facilitator, wrote down each group’s ideas on large sheets of papers, then hung them on the walls of the room. Later the groups were given markers and instructed to add their suggestions for development to other groups’ ideas

“Find something that calls to you and add to it,” Halda said, “this is your opportunity to take a chance to connect and collaborate. Write your thoughts on the paper.”

The multicolored messages spread across each paper by the end of the workshop showed that every group wanted to collaborate with others, particularly with research, media, holding symposiums, and spreading awareness of the history of women’s suffrage and equality. Multiple groups asked to help promote both women’s rights and civil rights and explore how these relate to one another.

Participating organizations included the Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum, Preservation Maryland, Goucher College, Loyola University, Morgan State University, Baltimore National Heritage Area, Baltimore Museum of Industry, and many others.

Participants of the workshop discuss ideas with each other.

Peter Samuel / NPS

Another NPS-led 19^th Amendment workshop will be held in the coming months within the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area in New York… stay tuned!

Discover more news and stories from America's National Heritage Areas.