Uploaded March 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Brief and Incomplete asks us to take a look at the histories we think we know and ask: What have we chosen to remember? Who’s missing? And what’s the whole story?
As 19th-century women formed national organizations to work toward woman suffrage, white organizers often marginalized women of color and excluded them from the movement. To advocate for suffrage and address the myriad challenges racism caused their communities, Black women organized through the Black women’s club movement.
NMAH Museum Educator Julie Garner and activist Billie Krishawn explore this history and its relevance to modern-day voting rights. Billie Krishawn is a Washington, D.C., resident who gives time, energy, and resources to help her community, focusing especially on issues around voting rights. She is one of many concerned citizens who, inspired by history, take action to make positive change in their communities.
🔍 To explore what we choose to remember and learn more about more women who have been left out of the suffrage story, view the online exhibition Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman suffrage: https://americanhistory.si.edu/creating-icons
📖 The NACW renamed itself the National Association of Colored Women’s Club’s, Inc., and has been active through the Civil Rights movement and into the present day. View their 1962 Convention Program in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives: https://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=ACMA.06-042_ref1890
🎥 Teachers, parents, educators! To lead a discussion on the political tactics used by suffragists, check out our resources from the 2019 National Youth Summit: https://historyexplorer.si.edu/resource/objects-history-woman-suffrage
📚Explore stories of women from across the Smithsonian: https://womenshistory.si.edu/
#BecauseOfHerStory #WomensHistoryMonth
Brief and Incomplete asks us to take a look at the histories we think we know and ask: What have we chosen to remember? Who’s missing? And what’s the whole story?
As 19th-century women formed national organizations to work toward woman suffrage, white organizers often marginalized women of color and excluded them from the movement. To advocate for suffrage and address the myriad challenges racism caused their communities, Black women organized through the Black women’s club movement.
NMAH Museum Educator Julie Garner and activist Billie Krishawn explore this history and its relevance to modern-day voting rights. Billie Krishawn is a Washington, D.C., resident who gives time, energy, and resources to help her community, focusing especially on issues around voting rights. She is one of many concerned citizens who, inspired by history, take action to make positive change in their communities.
🔍 To explore what we choose to remember and learn more about more women who have been left out of the suffrage story, view the online exhibition Creating Icons: How We Remember Woman suffrage: https://americanhistory.si.edu/creating-icons
📖 The NACW renamed itself the National Association of Colored Women’s Club’s, Inc., and has been active through the Civil Rights movement and into the present day. View their 1962 Convention Program in the Anacostia Community Museum Archives: https://edan.si.edu/slideshow/viewer/?eadrefid=ACMA.06-042_ref1890
🎥 Teachers, parents, educators! To lead a discussion on the political tactics used by suffragists, check out our resources from the 2019 National Youth Summit: https://historyexplorer.si.edu/resource/objects-history-woman-suffrage
📚Explore stories of women from across the Smithsonian: https://womenshistory.si.edu/
#BecauseOfHerStory #WomensHistoryMonth
