In response to Dr. Brittney Yancy and West Hartford Historian Dr. Tracey Wilson calling attention to the fact that the first League plaque installed at the Connecticut Capitol in 1934 left out all the women of color involved in the fight for women's suffrage, the 2020-2022 board of directors created another bronze plaque in honor of 29 of these women. The plaque can be seen along with the original plaque in the South Lobby of the Capitol.
Below are the names of the 29 women featured on the plaque:
| Rachel Baker | Minnie Glover | Rose Payton |
| Minnie L. Bradley | Lula Green Graham | Anna B. Reese |
| Rhoda Brooks | Margaret Moore Green | Linna Saunders |
| Clara A. Burr | Josephine Haywood | Beatrice Johnson Saxon |
| Callie Coleman | Anna Louise James | Mary Townsend Seymour |
| Daisy Trotter Daniels | Mary A. Johnson | Pearl Reese Shaw |
| Mary E. Dickerson | Lena Knighton | Rebecca Tanner |
| Rosa J. Fisher | Ida Napier Lawson | Ida Sully Troy |
| Sarah Lee Brown Fleming | Pearl Woods Lee | Hattie Wood |
| Martha Minerva Franklin | Martha Maddox |
The Work Must Be Done
In 2020, Connecticut joined the nation in commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, enshrining the right to vote for women. The Work Must Be Done: Women of Color and Voting Rights is a collaborative project begun in 2019 by Dr. Brittney Yancy, Dr. Karen Li Miller, and Ilene Frank to address the growing need to identify and amplify the stories of the women of color who participated in the fight for suffrage and developed a broader movement focused on voting equity.
With the title inspired by the words of notable African American reformer and political activist, Mary Townsend Seymour, their exciting new research shows the many ways that women of color were active leaders who developed their own associations, both nationwide and state-based, to achieve social and political reforms, including working for women’s suffrage.
Special Presentation
In this presentation, you will hear from the 2021 Connecticut Women's Suffrage Research Fellowship grant recipients regarding their research on women of color in the Connecticut women’s suffrage movement around the passage of the 19th amendment, to gain a fuller understanding of all the women who fought for the right to vote in our state.
