On Saturday August 27 at 2:00 p.m. two Charlotte organizations are planning an event called “Women Firsts” to celebrate the 102nd anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote.

A live panel discussion, hosted by American Association of University Women Charlotte and League of Women Voters Charlotte Mecklenburg, will feature 5 local women who represent all women who have broken barriers. 

Included are stories from the first African American to integrate Winthrop College, a woman who won a hiring discrimination case and started the Naval War College's first Safety Program, the first female in her family to attend and graduate from college, the first woman to be hired in a management position in a chemical company, and the first female printer’s apprentice in Detroit. 

The audience will also "role play" with a famous activist from the past. Light refreshments will be served, and handmade jewelry will be available for sale.

The panel will be presented on Saturday August 27 at 2:00 p.m. in room 250 at Myers Park Baptist Church Education Center and the public is invited to attend. Suzanne Elsberry, President of League of Women Voters Charlotte Mecklenburg, will serve as moderator. Panelists will be Delores Johnson Hurt, Beverly Larson, Susan Rodriguez, Jeanne Smith, and Cate Stadelman.