VOTES FOR WOMEN
- Program
- Subject
- Location
- Lat/Long
- Grant Recipient
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National Votes for Women Trail
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Event
- 6 6th St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, USA
- 27.771253, -82.641634
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National Collaborative for Women's History Sites
VOTES FOR WOMEN
Inscription
VOTES FOR WOMENON MARCH 4, 1919, HUNDREDS OF
SUFFRAGISTS GATHERED AT 6TH ST
& CENTRAL AVE TO MARCH IN
SUPPORT OF WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
AS PART OF KERMESS PARADE.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2022
On March 4, 1919, suffragists gathered at Sixth Street and Central Avenue in the city of St. Petersburg in Pinellas County, Florida to march in support of women’s right to vote. The suffrage marchers made up the women’s suffrage section of the Kermess Parade. That day’s edition of the Tampa Bay Times projected that thousands of people were to take part in the Kermess Parade that evening. The March 5 edition of the Tampa Bay Times put the number of marchers in the women’s suffrage section of the parade around 350, with suffragists representing 25 different states, along with Canada, New Zealand, and England. It was reported that the suffrage marchers were under the direction of the suffrage department of the Pinellas County Federation of Women’s Clubs. The Tampa Bay Times provided a description of the women’s suffrage section:
A novel feature of this section was a group of boys carrying a banner which read “Votes for Mothers.” A mother wheeling her baby attracted much attention as did the few men in the section. Florida was represented by a group of prominent women bearing a huge banner “Democracy for All.” Most automobiles in the parade were decorated in yellow the color of the suffragists, and contained advocates of votes for women.
Three months later, on June 4, 1919, the United States Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment which stated that the right to vote could not be denied on account of sex. This was the culmination of a decades long fight for women’s right to vote. After it was passed by Congress, the amendment went to the states for ratification. Despite the efforts of Florida suffragists, the state did not vote on the amendment. However, by August 1920, the necessary 36 states had ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, securing women’s right to vote across the United States, including in the state of Florida.
