Welcome Remarks for "Celebrating the Woman Suffrage Centennial: What Happened and What Have We Learned?"

Hello! I’m Debra Steidel Wall, Deputy Archivist of the United States, and I’m delighted to welcome you to today’s panel discussion—“Celebrating the Woman Suffrage Centennial: What Happened and What Have We Learned?”

We are presenting this program in partnership with the 2020 Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative, with support from

the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial,

the National Women’s History Alliance,

the National Women’s History Museum, and

the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, and we thank them all for their support.

I have been honored to have served on the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, and to have been part of the National Archives’ commemoration of the 19th Amendment. We and other institutions across the country promoted the centennial observance with a wide assortment of programs and events—even though the ongoing public health crisis meant that our commemoration had to pivot to largely online outlets.

Our own numerous programs and exhibits included discussions and film screenings, participation in the Forward into Light Celebration on Women’s Equality Day, and our centerpiece exhibit, Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote related pop-up displays.

Rightfully Hers tells the story of women’s struggle for voting rights as a critical step toward equal citizenship. The exhibit explores how American women across the spectrum of race, ethnicity, and class advanced the cause of suffrage and follows the struggle for voting rights beyond 1920.

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Now I am pleased to turn you over to Nancy Tate, who will introduce our panel.

Since 2015, Nancy E. Tate has served as the co-chair of the 2020 Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative. She is also on the boards of the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial and the National Women’s History Alliance. From 2000 to 2015, she served as the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the United States. Previously, she served as the Chief Operating Officer of the National Academy of Public Administration, and in the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, and the Office of Economic Opportunity.

Please welcome Nancy Tate.