The 19th Amendment was only the beginning of the fight to secure voting rights for all American women. As we honor the suffragists of the early 20th century and the civil rights activists of the 1950s and ’60s, we also remember the women who taught future generations to exercise their most fundamental democratic right.
These are the stories of women inspired by those who voted first.
- Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state
- Roslyn M. Brock, NAACP chairman emeritus
- Margaret Cho, comedian
- Sydney Colson, WNBA player
- Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.)
- Gov. Kay Ivey (R-Ala.)
- Mina Kimes, ESPN NFL analyst
- Bernice A. King, King Center CEO
- Janet Murguía, UnidosUS president
- Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state
- Nicole Richie, actress
- Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer
Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state
“We were immigrants, and we were all very grateful to become Americans.”
Roslyn M. Brock, NAACP chairman emeritus
“As a Black woman and a farmer in the segregated South, she cast her first vote at the age of 59.”
Margaret Cho, comedian
“My family never voted because they never felt that this was their country.”
Sydney Colson, WNBA player
“Despite her third-grade education, she would take her kids to night school with her so she could be a shining example of determination for them.”
Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.)
“My grandmother wasn’t a highly political person; she just believed in including people and in making things work.”
Gov. Kay Ivey (R-Ala.)
“To be a good citizen, one must participate and vote. That was true then and is even more important now.”
Mina Kimes, ESPN NFL analyst
“She was born in North Korea. … As she lived in this country longer and longer, she became more invested in it and more excited to vote.”
Bernice A. King, King Center CEO
“Because of her teachings, I became a registered voter during my senior year at Frederick Douglass High School.”
Janet Murguía, UnidosUS president
“For her entire life, she dedicated herself to helping others.”
Condoleezza Rice, former secretary of state
“As a little girl, I didn’t understand why they were bothering to vote because, after all, Black people didn’t seem to have a voice.”
Nicole Richie, actress
“We didn’t wear matching outfits to vote, but she did take me to vote on every election.”
Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook chief operating officer
“Like many Jewish families, they were fleeing persecution and the pogroms of czarist Russia.”
The idea for “First Woman Voter” is to encourage women to look within their own families for heroes of the women’s suffrage movement. To share your own story, visit firstwomanvoter.com.
See more:
Ann Telnaes: Suffragists were the original ‘nasty’ women
Joy Sharon Yi: Voter suppression never went away. It evolved.
Elizabeth Cobbs: What took so long for women to win the right to vote? Racism is one reason.