ATLANTA – State Representative Pam Dickerson (D-Conyers) and State Senator Sally Harrell (D-Atlanta), co-chairs of the Georgia Women’s Legislative Caucus, today remember the women’s suffrage movement on the eve of the 19th Amendment’s 100th anniversary.
“It has been 100 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified and women were given the right to vote,” said Rep. Dickerson. “We have stood on the shoulders of many, such as Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Smith, Ida Wells and Fannie Lou Hamer, whose words we will not forget, ‘I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired,’ as these courageous women fought hard for women’s rights.”
“Women’s suffrage was the hard fought result of decades of marches, protests and strikes,” said Sen. Harrell. “It also marks the beginning of America’s transformation to make the government more representative of its citizens. Many of us wouldn’t be where we are today if the 19th Amendment did not exist. While we have made much progress for gender equality over the last 100 years, we recognize that there is still work to do to achieve our goal. I look forward to continuing the work of those who came before us and championing women’s causes that will have an impact for the next 100 years and beyond.”
The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920, to prohibit states and the federal government from denying a citizen’s right to vote on the basis of sex. While the women across the country were able to vote in the 1920 presidential election, the state of Georgia cited a rule that required voters to register six months before an election. As a result, women in Georgia had to wait until 1922 to cast their ballots in the next election cycle. Georgia voted to ratify the 19th amendment on February 20, 1970.
Representative Pam Dickerson represents the citizens of District 113, which includes portions of Newton and Rockdale counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and currently serves on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and the Education, Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications, Juvenile Justice, Judiciary Non-Civil and Legislative & Congressional Reapportionment committees.
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