Published: Sept. 11, 2020

The ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920, secured and protected women’s right to vote. To celebrate, the University Libraries, the League of Women Voters Boulder County and CU Boulder Women & Gender Studies Associate Professor Celeste Montoya will engage in a virtual panel discussion Tuesday, September 15. 

Colorado governor Oliver H. Shoup ratifies the 19th amendment on December 12, 1919.

Photograph of Colorado's ratification of the 19th Amendment, Dec. 12, 1919. (Photo/Library of Congress)

Joining Montoya are panelists Rachael Willihnganz, Jackie Alderete, Hannah Rain Crowe and Rossana Longo. Together, they will discuss the history of the long struggle for women's suffrage, the challenges in the years since the Amendment was passed, and the League of Women Voters’ “She is Me” project. 

Registration is free and open to all. Connection information will be shared via email following registration.

Before the virtual event, explore the suffrage movement within the context of the broader fight for women's rights through the online exhibit, "On the March Toward Women's Suffrage," curated by CU Boulder alumna Sarah Vlasity. Exhibit materials held by Special Collections & Archives, Collections of Distinction and the University Libraries trace a path from efforts to promote equal access to education in the 18th century to increasing calls for expanded social and legal rights beginning in the mid-19th century. 

The panelists' discussion will be recorded and the stream will be available on the University Libraries’ YouTube page. Video forthcoming.