The celebration will create a tapestry of women standing together, showing the strength and power of their vote. An 18-year-old woman from each of NM’s counties will speak the first year they are permitted to vote along with a woman from each of the 50 states and D.C. briefly stating why they vote. One Native American, one Black, one Hispanic, and one White woman will share their history about the struggle to vote accompanied by songs from those cultures.

Other performance pieces will honor the women’s vote. The program includes brief remarks by some NM women leaders--including Governor Lujan Grisham, SOS Toulouse Oliver, Supreme Court Justice Nakamura, Congresswomen Deb Haaland and Xochitl Torres Small. A new program that will help survivors of domestic violence access low interest loans will be launched. Martha Burk will speak on Economics, Women and the Power of Voting, and Olivia Friedman will read excerpts from her book  2020 and Beyond, The Next Steps for Women.  

Learn much more about NM’s role in the suffrage movement and more about the struggle for voting rights through these resources: 

• NM PBS:  New Mexico and the Vote (A new podcast: four episodes) 
• New Mexico Humanities Council:  The Right to Vote  (multiple resources on voting rights in New Mexico)
  
• Starting Conversations: Centennial Celebration of Women's Right to Vote (A Youtube Video panel discussion hosted by New Mexico Humanities Council)
• University of New Mexico Libraries:  Celebrating the Right of Women to Vote in New Mexico
•  National Park Service:  New Mexico and the 19th Amendment

For more information, please contact Dr. Meredith Machen, LWVNM History Chair, projects [at] lwvnm.org, 505 577-6337