CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Corpus Christi League of Women Voters is celebrating a milestone on Monday after city council members and the Nueces County Commissioners Court voted to proclaim Monday as Women's Equality Day.
The nonpartisan organization said that women marched, fought, went to jail and died for the right to vote and they plan to continue making voting accessible to all people. The day commemorates the 104th anniversary of womens' right to vote.
The national league was founded in 1920 just six months before the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The local chapter of the grassroots movement sprouted in 1945 when leader Dorothy Greene and other volunteers worked to obtain voting machines for the voters of Nueces County, according to the League.
The group said that the 19th Amendment granted some women the right to vote while still excluding other women that right, because of discriminatory state voting laws. However, the long hard road to obtaining the right to vote for all women showed the power of the people to unite for the greater good.
The organization continues to focus on educating voters through bilingual voter guides and candidate forums.
Brittany Young spoke at Nueces County Commissioner's Court last week to accept the county's proclamation, saying that there will always be more work ahead.
"The right to vote is an ongoing fight and we can't stop that fight... I hope that everyone takes the time to vote in the upcoming election," Young said.
"We want to continue that work and continue to advocate for voting policies that make voting accessible to all Americans."
Judge Connie Scott congratulated the group before saying, " I just want to say, on behalf of myself, thank y'all for all you do for women." The sentiment was echoed by male members of the commissioner's court.
The League of Women Voters Corpus Christi Area will commemorate the day with a sold-out Women’s Equality Day Dinner and Silent Auction on Monday night. The proceeds from this event will go towards our continued effort to create bilingual voter guides for the Corpus Christi area.
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