Beginning in the mid-19th century, women began to campaign for the right to vote. This struggle was long and difficult, and racism played a major role in it. White women who campaigned for suffrage were often reluctant to include women of color in their movements, and black women had to fight not only for the right to vote but also for recognition and respect from the white women who claimed to be fighting for them.
One of the most famous examples of racism in the womens suffrage movement is the case of Ida B. Wells. Wells was a prominent journalist and activist who fought for civil rights in the South during the late 19th century. In 1892, she published an article called “The Memphis Lynchings” in which she exposed the widespread practice of lynching in the United States. Wells also spoke out against racism within the suffrage movement, and she was often attacked by white women for doing so.
Despite the obstacles they faced, black women played a significant role in the struggle for suffrage. They formed their own organizations, wrote their own speeches and articles, and marched on Washington alongside white women. And in 1920, when women finally won the right to vote, black women were among the first to cast their ballots.
Historically, women have been kept from enjoying many of the rights that men have established for themselves. From the Puritans’ ignoring women from being considered Elect to contemporary examples of female underpaidness. According to Charlotte Gilman, even religion, the woman’s help, was tainted and damaged by coming through males only (Gilman, p. 370). Men have controlled American society in order to satisfy solely their own whims.
This exclusion of women, specifically women of color, was also rampant in the women’s suffrage movement. Racism was used as a tool to silence and dismiss women of color who were fighting for the same rights as white women.
One such example is how Victoria Woodhull was treated by the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Woodhull was one of the earliest advocates for womens suffrage and she was also an African American woman. However, her race and gender prevented her from being taken seriously by NAWSA. The organization refused to recognize her as a legitimate voice for womens suffrage and instead focused on working with white women only.
In fact, NAWSA went so far as to spread rumors about Woodhull in an attempt to discredit her. They accused her of being a prostitute and of using her position as a suffragist to make money. NAWSA’s blatant racism ultimately silenced and sidelined Woodhull, preventing her from having a significant impact on the women’s suffrage movement.
Similarly, Ida B. Wells was also met with resistance from white suffragists because of her race. Wells was an outspoken critic of lynching and she used her platform to speak out against the racism that was prevalent in the women’s suffrage movement. She argued that white women were hypocritical for claiming to want equality when they were silent about the injustices that black women faced. For Wells, the fight for womens suffrage was inextricably linked to the fight against racism. However, her views were largely dismissed by white suffragists who saw her as a threat to their movement.
The racism that was present in the women’s suffrage movement ultimately served to benefit only white women. Women of color were marginalized and their voices were ignored. Racism was used as a tool to silence and dismiss women of color who were fighting for the same rights as white women. It is important to remember the history of racism in the womens suffrage movement in order to avoid repeating these mistakes in the future.
Despite the numerous disenfranchisements, some women did not give in to such circumstances. They recognized that the only way to affect change was through suffrage. The first Women’s Rights Convention in the United States was held at Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848, which marked the beginning of women’s suffrage.
However, racism was entrenched in the women’s suffrage movement from its inception. White women who championed suffrage often did so in a way that ignored or downplayed the voices and experiences of women of color. Racism was used to justify denying black women the right to vote by portraying them as intellectually and morally inferior to white women.
For example, one supporter of women’s suffrage argued that “The negro woman is especially fitted for this work on account of her natural docility and subjection.” This attitude not only undermined black women’s participation in the movement but also contributed to the denial of their basic civil rights.
It would take many years and much struggle before black women would be formally recognized as part of the women’s suffrage movement. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act was passed, which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. This was a major victory, but the fight against racism in the women’s suffrage movement is far from over. We must remember the experiences of black women in order to build a more inclusive and equitable movement for women’s rights.
Throughout the long road to suffrage, there was a lot of uncertainty about which issue would be given the most attention. White women pushed for equal rights and slavery’s abolition, yet they didn’t want to be treated equally to Blacks.
Would this imply that Black women would also be given these rights if they were granted their citizenship? When it appeared that white men might grant black males the right to vote while denying white women theirs, suffragists among white ladies did not act as a group by demanding that all people and both sexes deserved the opportunity to vote.
Racism was a tool used to divide the women’s suffrage movement and to keep white women in power. One of the most prominent examples of racism within the womens suffrage movement is the split between abolitionists and suffragists. Women such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Sojourner Truth were abolitionists who fought for both womens rights and Black civil rights.
However, when Stanton and Mott started the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, they did not invite any Black women to participate (Hooks, Bell p. 127). These women claimed that giving Black women the right to vote would be “to bestow upon them an undeserved favor” (Hooks, Bell p. 127).
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was a large division between white suffragists and suffragettes. Suffragettes were more radical and militant in their tactics than suffragists. One of the key differences between these two groups was how they approached racism. Suffragists believed that by proving that they were just as good as white men, they would be granted citizenship rights. Suffragettes, however, did not believe in appeasement. They saw racism and sexism as two sides of the same coin and fought against both (Fawcett Society).
