With the March primary elections around the corner, as part of its women-centric programming, The Ebell of Los Angeles hosted a discussion on the role Black women played in the fight for voting equality.
At a “coffee talk” hosted at the Mid-Wilshire nonprofit on Wednesday, Feb. 21, USC historian Francille Rusan Wilson outlined the decades-long battle Black women fought between the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment — which formally granted women the right to vote — and the Voting Rights Act of 1969. The group of around 40 diverse women reflected on the influence of Black suffragettes, especially as Black women continued to face discrimination and prejudice.
“I think the key takeaways are that Black women activists always had more than one thing they were activists about,” Wilson said before her talk. “They were activists about voting rights for women, human rights, social justice, and they were concerned about their race.”
The event included a display of lace outfits worn during the Suffrage Movement, when women sought the right to vote through organized protesting. There were posters of well-known Black women activists from the period, such as Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell and others.
Wilson, an associate professor of American Studies and Ethnicity, is also director of the Black Studies Initiative at USC. This past fall, she was awarded the Woodson Scholars Medallion from the Association of African American Life and History for over a decade of work in her field.
Black women, who fought long for gender and racial equality, were also “outspoken” about supporting Native American, Puerto Rican and Filipino women’s voices, who also didn’t have the right to vote in overseas territories, Wilson said.
In 1848, there were no Black women present at Seneca Falls, the first women’s rights convention. This started a decades-long trend of white women prioritizing their rights throughout history, oftentimes leaving Black women behind to fight for their own rights — which led to a 45-year gap between each group gaining the right to vote, Wilson said.
“The women’s suffrage movement really grew out of the anti-slavery movement,” Wilson said. “By the time the 19th Amendment came, we’re looking at the second and third generation of Black women activists who are trying to get the vote.”
Since 1968, Democrats have never gotten a majority of white voters, according to Wilson.
Wilson reiterated the power of the Black female — and all women of color — vote.
“There’s been a lot of efforts to suppress minority, poor and youth voters; more than 30 states have passed laws that are intended to suppress various groups’ voting rights,” she said.
In the 2020 presidential election, of the Black women who voted, 95% voted for Joe Biden, according to Pew Research data. Around 5% of Black women voted for Donald Trump.
“It’s clear that if Black women don’t turn out in large numbers, that it’s going to harm Democrats not just at the top of the ticket, but all the way down,” Wilson said.
Attendee Carol Bennett said that Angelenos of all races “need to know this history,” what Black women “sacrificed to get where they got.” She said she plans to vote this presidential election year, because “every vote matters.”
“They made it possible for me to get where I got, and for my daughter to get where she’s gone,” Bennett, 71, said. Her father was a major in the U.S. Army and was raised in the segregated South, sparking her and her family’s political views.
“I’ve always voted my whole life. I believe in the democratic process, as jaded as that has become,” she said.
L.A. resident Jackie Jackson agreed that “voting matters” and that Black women have “been making some important decisions” each election.
“I think it’s been important for people to know about this history,” Jackson, 68, said. “Given past elections, I’ve heard of the amount of Black women voting being referred to as Black women saving democracy.”
Madelyn Murray, a member of the Ebell of L.A. who chaired the event, said she heard Wilson speak before and was impressed with her knowledge and “depth of history.” She said that hosting events like these are just one of many ways the Ebell has “evolved” over the years, to better reflect and engage the community.
The Ebell of Los Angeles has hosted multiple events during Black History Month, including a performance by jazz legend Bennie Maupin. Upcoming events include a panel focused on African American women in politics on Feb. 26, and a sold-out field trip to the Wilfandel Club, a space dedicated to Black women.
For more information: ebellofla.org
