A Vote in the 20’s

Flora climbs the exterior of the homestead, creating a gateway around the entrance. She poses with her domain in the background, the caption signifying the tremendous steps she was poised take outside of it. Did she ask for this photograph taken, or did someone insist on capturing this day?

This photograph was scattered among other memories in a bin at the Kane County Flea Market. I’d imagine this woman called the Midwest her home, if not my very own northern Illinois. The sunshine feels like spring, but surely it is fall. The 19th amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. Suffrage to women was granted, though women of color and women of low-income were excluded from this privilege.

One hundred years later and we are still struggling against structures of power designed to keep us out. Voting within a broken system, reform is not possible here. We must rebuild together; let justice, love, and creativity guide our coexistence.