'CELEBRATE THE PASSAGE, FIGHT FOR THE PROMISE"

 Since she is Tennessee born and bred,  today’s blog is written by my partner and co-pastor, the Rev. Caroline Leach, who was the 21^st woman ordained to the ministry in the former Presbyterian Church US.

 

“CELEBRATE THE PASSAGE, FIGHT FOR THE PROMISE”

 

            On August 17, 1920, Seth Walker, the Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, left his position and went down to the floor to speak in favor of tabling the motion to ratify the 19^th Amendment, which would give women the right to vote.  Tennessee was one of the last chances for the Amendment to be ratified – if it did so, it would be the 36^th state to do so, and it would push the amendment over the line for ratification to amend the Constitution.  If it failed to do so, the Amendment was likely dead. 

 

The vote on passage in Tennessee would be exceedingly close, and thus the Speaker took the unusual step of going to the floor to speak on defeating it.  In his speech Walker got to the heart of the matter.  He was against giving the right to vote to women, and his reasoning boiled down to one fundamental reason:  “This is a white man’s country.”  He spoke this to a legislature full of white men, called into special session by Gov. A. H. Roberts in sweltering August heat in Nashville.  They came into Nashville – all white, all male – ready to put women into their place once and for all.  Most would have preferred to have been sitting on the porch with a cool drink or swimming in a creek or lake that dot the hills and hollers and flatlands, but here they were. 

 

So, the women of Tennessee had ridden the trains, hired drivers (because they weren’t allowed to drive), and walked dusty roads and trails to talk with each of Tennessee’s legislators, seeking to get a signature for a “yes” vote.  There were plenty of women and men opposed to the 19^th Amendment, and there was heavy opposition funding from the railroads and the liquor lobby.  There is a great book about Tennessee’s journey on this, called “The Woman’s Hour”, by Elaine Weiss – it will take your breath away.

 

After he made his “white man” speech, Speaker Walker received a dismaying surprise later that day when Banks Turner changed his mind and voted against tabling the motion, thus freeing it for an “up or down” vote the next day.   And, that day brought another surprise.  Although he had voted to table the motion the previous day, Harry Burn - the youngest member of the legislature – had received a letter that night from his widowed mother Phoebe “Febb” Burn, urging him to vote for the 19^th Amendment.  He had been vacillating over what action to take all during the session, but his momma’s words convinced him.  He voted “aye” on the 19^th Amendment, shocking everyone, and a tumult followed on the floor of the Tennessee House.   The 19^th Amendment, certifying the right to vote for women, would now become the law of the land.

 

The final vote was 49-48 – ONE VOTE determined the fate of voting for women – ONE VOTE!  Having broken through this wall only led to confronting more walls – despite the 15^th Amendment, many Black men and women were denied the right to vote.  Native Americans, Asian-Americans, LatinX Americans had to claw and scrape their way to the vote, finally achieved in the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Or, so we thought – that act was eviscerated by the Supreme Court in 2013, so we are back, way back, in the parade. 

 

The fight for voting rights for everyone continues today.  We see it now in the voter suppression for 2020, so make a plan to vote and to get others registered and voting.  Following the 19^th Amendment, we have heard so often that “woman’s place is in the home,” but we have added “and in the House!”  It was clear then, and it is clear now that there were (and are) many roadblocks to voting.  When the 19^th Amendment passed in 1920, there were 10 weeks left until the presidential election of that year – about the same amount for us 100 years later.  The roadblocks remain – let us be like those dedicated women in Tennessee and hit the streets to make certain that the community votes.  It is as crucial as that vote on the hot August day in Tennessee in 1920.  Let us celebrate the passage of the 19^th Amendment, and let us now fight for its promise.