Women of
VISION & COURAGE
Ida B. Wells
Zitkala Sa
Born into slavery, Ida B. Wells was an investigative journalist, women’s rights advocate and suffragist who dedicated her life to civil rights. She wrote and spoke internationally on the topics of lynching and anti-segregation in America. Passionate about women’s rights and suffrage, she organized The Women’s Era Club in 1893, a civic club for African-American women in Chicago. In 1896 she was one of the founding members of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs (NACWC). The Tacoma City Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, Inc., is an affiliated member of the NACWC. Wells was one of two African-American women to sign “the call” to form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. In 1913 she started the Alpha Suffrage Club whose purposes were to further voting rights for all women, teach black women how to engage in civic matters and elect African Americans to city offices. It was considered one of the most important black suffrage organizations in Chicago. In 1895, Ms. Wells married Ferdinand L. Barnett, a prominent attorney, civil rights activist and journalist who became Illinois’ first black assistant state’s attorney. In 1988 she was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame and later the Chicago Women’s Hall of Fame. The United States Postal Service issued a 25-cent postage stamp in her honor in 1990.
Zitkala Sa was born on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota. At the age of eight she was sent by missionaries to White’s Indiana Manual Labor Institute. She would later write about the deep misery of having her heritage stripped away while taking joy in learning to read, write and play the violin. Ms. Sa was a prolific writer on a variety of topics including the profound loss of identity felt by Native Americans resulting from assimilation to the dominant American culture. As a Native American woman, she was not a United States citizen and therefore denied the right to vote. Even after the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, most Native Americans remained unable to vote because they were not citizens. Throughout the 1920’s she worked to unite all indigenous nations in the fight for citizenship rights, which led to the passage of the 1924 Indians Citizenship Act, a bill that granted U.S. citizenship to many Native Americans. Ms. Sa was also involved with the women’s rights movement, joining the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. In 1926, she and her husband founded the National Council of American Indians (precursor to National Congress of American Indians), dedicated to full citizenship rights through suffrage for all indigenous nations in the United States, while maintain their cultural heritage. Ms. Sa continued to work for civil rights for Native Americans until her death. She is buried in Arlington Cemetery under her given name of Gertrude Simmons Bonnin. In 1997 she was designated a Women’s History Month Honoree by the National Women’s History Project.
1862-1931
1876-1938
Emma Smith DeVoe 1848-1927
Emma Smith DeVoe first heard Susan B. Anthony speak about women’s suffrage at the age of eight. When Ms Anthony asked those who supported women’s suffrage to stand up, young Emma was the first on her feet. She spent the rest of her life fighting for women’s rights. Thanks to Ms. DeVoe’s efforts, women in Idaho received the right to vote in 1896. After moving to Tacoma in 1906, Ms. DeVoe became president of the Washington Equal Suffrage Association. She established chapters of suffragists, organized meetings gave lectures, and helped with rallies, parades, publicity stunts and speeches. She published the Washington Women’s Cook Book in 1908 as both a fundraiser for the suffragist movement and to demonstrate that women would continue in their domestic role after gaining the right to vote. Her foresight and leadership led to Washington State granting women the right to vote in 1910. After her victory in Washington State she campaigned in other states and played a leading role in securing passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Ms. DeVoe was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000.
Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee 1896-1966
Born in China, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee learned English at a missionary school and was later awarded an academic scholarship which granted her a United States visa. In 1905, Dr. Lee and her parents settled in New York where Dr. Lee became a known figure in New York’s suffrage movement by the age of 16. When the New York City suffragists held a parade to advocate for women’s voting rights in 1912, Dr. Lee helped lead the parade on horseback. Prior to the parade, The New York Tribune wrote an article highlighting her academic accomplishments and desire to improve the lives of women and girls. That same year Dr. Lee began her studies at Barnard College and remained involved in the suffrage movement throughout college, writing and speaking on women’s issues, including the extension of democracy through voting and the need to promote girls’ education and women’s civic participation. Although women won the right to vote in New York State in 1917, Chinese women, like Dr. Lee, could not vote until 1943 as Chinese immigrants were prevented from becoming citizens by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Despite this, she continued to advocate for women’s voting rights. After her father’s death in 1924, Dr. Lee took over his role as director of the First Chinese Baptist Church of New York City. Later, she founded the Chinese Christian Center, a community center that offered vocational and English classes, a health clinic, and a kindergarten. In 2020 Dr. Lee was honored as one of the Valiant Women of the Vote by the National Women’s History Alliance.