Chick History invites the community to A Watchfire Party, a modern adaptation of these historic protests, complete with a cauldron ceremony.
The evening will commemorate National Woman’s Party began picketing the White House in support of women's right to vote. Hear some of the most outlandish arguments of the time against suffrage, as well as the words of suffrage leaders demanding votes for women.
The evening, set for 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27 at Everwood at the Avenue, 915 Robert Rose Drive in Murfreesboro, includes cocktails and hors-d'oeuvres. The program will be presented by Barbara Scales, director of the June Anderson Center for Women & Nontraditional Students at MTSU, and Rebecca Price, Chick History President & CEO.
In 1917, the National Woman’s Party began picketing the White House to pressure President Woodrow Wilson to support the Susan B. Anthony Amendment – votes for women.
Silent Sentinels, as they were known, picketed in shifts around the clock. After two years, they turned up the heat. Placing a giant cauldron in front of the White House, suffragists kept a perpetual fire ablaze to burn effigies and hypocritical speeches of the President. These protests became known as Watchfires.
Hundreds of women picketed and dozens were jailed over this period in their fight for the vote. In 1920, the Susan B. Anthony Amendment was ratified by the final state—Tennessee —and became the 19th Amendment to the Constitution.
Join Chick History for a lively and engaging evening as we honor Tennessee picketers Mary Church Terrell and Sue Shelton White and feature select historical readings ranging from Anti-Suffrage Pamphlets to the NAACP’s The Crisis Magazine.
EVENT DETAILS
Cauldron Ceremony
Become a 21st century Not-So-Silent Sentinel in this twist on the famous protest
$50 – Individual Ticket
$200 – Circle of the Watchfire Society*
*Join the Circle of the Watchfire Society and receive a “Jail Door” Pin, Suffrage Stationery, an Opportunity to Honor a Family Member, and Donor Recognition.
ABOUT THE PICKETERS
Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954) was one of the first African American women to earn a college degree, and was a national activist for civil rights and suffrage. Born in Memphis, TN, she was a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Sue Shelton White (1887–1943) was a lawyer originally from Henderson, TN who served as a national leader of the women’s suffrage movement. During the first Watchfire in 1917, Sue Shelton White burned an effigy of President Wilson and was arrested.
