On Tuesday August 18^th we marked the 100^th anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution granting women’s suffrage. Next Wednesday, August 26^th, we will celebrate Women’s Equality Day, the date that the ratification was certified in 1920. The 19^th Amendment represents the single largest expansion of democratic rights in U.S. history. It marked a huge win in a struggle launched almost a century earlier and cultivated through the abolitionist movement. Women and men from many walks of life, including immigrants and Jews, Native Americans and African Amercans poured themselves into supporting the cause of equality for women. The coalitions were not without tension and contention, and many women who supported the amendment knew that they themselves would not have the right to vote without further changes in the law. But through the effort of all those people, the 19^th Amendment became the law of the land.

At this august moment, the centennial of women’s right to vote in this country, we celebrate the right of all eligible voters, and especially women, to vote in the upcoming national election. We also assert our responsibility to safeguard the right of all citizens to vote. Here are some things you can do:

● Join our MitzVOTES team at KI to help mobilize voters and fight voter suppression

● Take the Every Voice Every Vote pledge to commit to register and to vote in November

● Contact your representatives in Congress, consider signing a petition to save the USPS

Remember history has its eyes on us! (click the link and read the lyrics from Hamilton, An American Musical, and check out the song that comes next).