Yesterday I attended the event that was lead by Schreyer for Women. This event consisted of watching part of the PBS documentary titled “The Vote” and then a panel of experts on the Women’s Suffrage Movement answering questions from attendees. This experience was enlightening for me, I learned a lot and as I reflect now I realize how little I knew about the Women’s Suffrage Movement. When I learned about the Women’s Suffrage Movement in high school, my teachers outlined this topic as a more inspirational event; they left out or covered up by positive outcomes a lot of the hardships that occurred during this movement. By being fed the perspective that the Women’s Suffrage Movement was all positive because the outcome was positive was definitely detrimental to my understanding of this important historical event. This event led by Schreyer for Women really cleared up some of my past conceptions about the Women’s Suffrage Movement.

To start, watching the documentary, I learned that there were parades. I knew there were protests and other public demonstrations but I did not know there were organized parades, with signs and everything. That was a new learning that I took away from this event. To add onto the parades, I had no idea how awful men treated the women in the parades. Men would spit on, threaten and sometimes physically assault women who marched in these parades. Many men would also forbid their wife in participating in the movement as a whole and would abuse their wife if they spoke about it or tried to take part. This was shocking to me because I always thought that a lot of men were in support of the movement but in reality the majority of men were against it.

Another learning I took away with me from this screening event was the fact that a lot of black women participated in the movement. I knew that they benefitted from the outcome with the 19th Amendment but I did not know that they were out on the streets protesting. I have no idea why I thought this, perhaps it was because of all the media that I had seen in my textbooks were all white women or that the only influential women I had learned about from this movement were white, whatever the reason this was an important take away for me. Breaking down my preconceived notion, I learned that in fact one of the most influential activists was a black women. Although I can not remember her name, the panelists said that she is often forgotten but she was up front in all the parades and protests.

“The Vote” documentary and panelists for the event hosted by Schreyer for Women truly changed my perspective on the Women’s Suffrage Movement. I learned so many new things that I wish I was taught earlier in my education, but I am grateful that my perspective was able to change because of this new information. I highly recommend watching the PBS documentary “The Vote” and reflecting on the movement because if it was not for these brave, strong women who fought back then, my rights and maybe yours may not have been here today.