This year marks the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. Durango plans to celebrate that victory with a COVID-19-friendly event this weekend at Buckley Park.
The 19th Amendment Committee, which includes local chapters of the American Association of University Women and the League of Women Voters, is inviting the public to visit an open-air gallery from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The event will feature historical displays commemorating well-known suffragists, music, a silent auction and free “go vote” yard signs. With the pandemic to consider, creating the event has been a journey.
“This (event) commemorates the early work of the suffragists in getting to the 19th Amendment,” said Marcy Jung, president of the AAUW Durango chapter.
The suffrage movement started in earnest in the mid-1800s and continued until women gained the right to vote in 1920. Some suffragists kept going until voter-suppression policies blocking women of color from voting were barred by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and an amendment to the act in 1970 removed further obstacles to voting.
Durango’s anniversary celebration, called the “Open-Air Salute to Suffragists,” will feature 11 displays, including one provided by the U.S. National Archives to celebrate key figures in the movement.
Voting-related yard signs will be given to the first 100 attendees, one per household. People can buy commemorative T-shirts for $20, with proceeds going toward 19th Amendment Committee activities.
Participants can also join the silent auction, where they can bid on original artwork by Hayley Kirkman, a local artist and director of the Durango Creative District. The 19th Amendment Committee commissioned the artwork to commemorate this year’s anniversary. Bidding had reached $300 as of Wednesday.
The coronavirus added an extra challenge to planning the 100th anniversary celebration. The event began as a rally with live music and nine speakers, featuring Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera. As the coronavirus pandemic continued to impact the community, it shrank to five speakers, then two, then to an “unrally,” a news release said.
Finally, organizers created the Open-Air Salute, which meets public health guidelines and will offer hand sanitizer and masks to those in need.
“This whole event has been designed so it’s not something for people to gather all in one moment,” Jung said. “It’s completely designed to be COVID-compliant and extremely safe.”
smullane@durangoherald.com
