Museum of the Bible to Host Virtual Discussion on Women’s Suffrage and the 19th Amendment

On Thursday, Aug. 13, Museum of the Bible will host “Winning the Vote: The Women’s Bible and Suffrage,” a special program featuring a distinguished panel of speakers that will discuss topics relating to The Woman’s Bible and the centennial of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote.

“As we look forward to Nov. 3, I think it’s important to look back at the history and privilege of voting, as well as the suffrage movement,” said Shannon Bennett, Museum of the Bible’s director of communications. “The Woman’s Bible affirmed the equality of women to men in the eyes of God, which was both an ancient and radical, new idea at the time of publishing. The panel for Winning the Vote is intellectually distinguished and diverse, and I look forward to the exploration of this essential book and the suffrage movement.”

In 1895, suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton and 24 other women authored and published the first edition of The Woman’s Bible, which offered commentary on Scripture passages relating to women from Genesis to Revelation, assertions that women were equal to men and encouragement for women’s self-development. The bestselling book was considered radical and incited outrage among many.

Panelists for “Winning the Vote” include Dr. Kate Clarke Lemay, a historian at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery and founding co-coordinating curator of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative; Dr. Melissa R. Klapper, a professor of history and director of women’s and gender studies at Rowan University; Rev. Dr. Yolanda Pierce, professor and dean of the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C., and a scholar of several topics including African American religious history, womanist theology, race and religion; and Dr. Kathi Kern, a professor at University of Kentucky, affiliated member of the Gender and Women’s Studies Program and recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Teaching. Learn more about this distinguished panel here.

“Winning the Vote” will take place in Museum of the Bible’s Gathering Room from 6:30-8:00 p.m on Aug. 13 and will also be livestreamed on Facebook. Admission is $10 for members and $5 for students with valid ID. Tickets can be reserved here.

More information on Museum of the Bible is available here. {eoa}