Exhibition
Clinton Presidential Center
Women’s Voices,
Women’s Votes,
Women’s Rights
of the ratification of
the 19th Amendment
of the Fourth World Conference
on Women in Beijing
Every day, women speak out to make the world a more
just and safe place. They continue what Secretary
Hillary Rodham Clinton calls “the unfinished business
of the 21st century.”
This work is neither new, easy, safe, nor quick. Women
demanding the vote regularly confronted ingrained,
often violent prejudice as they struggled to convince
men — who had sole control over their governments —
to recognize that the ballot belonged
to women, as well as men.
No matter where women lived, they knew that the
right to vote meant more than casting their ballot.
It meant their status as equal citizens — their human
rights — could no longer be discounted.
Even though most women had the right to vote as the
century ended, many still fought to have their voices
heard. Then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's
proclamation that “women’s rights are human rights and
human rights are women’s rights” ricocheted around the
equator and jump started a global movement.
Every day, women speak out to make the world a more
just and safe place. They continue what Secretary
Hillary Rodham Clinton calls “the unfinished business
of the 21st century.”
This work is neither new, easy, safe, nor quick. Women
demanding the vote regularly confronted ingrained,
often violent prejudice as they struggled to convince
men — who had sole control over their governments —
to recognize that the ballot belonged
to women, as well as men.
No matter where women lived, they knew that the
right to vote meant more than casting their ballot.
It meant their status as equal citizens — their human
rights — could no longer be discounted.
Even though most women had the right to vote as the
century ended, many still fought to have their voices
heard. Then First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's
proclamation that “women’s rights are human rights and
human rights are women’s rights” ricocheted around the
equator and jump started a global movement.
Courtesy of Ralph Appelbaum Associates
Courtesy of Hollis Chatelain Courtesy of Michael CummingsCourtesy of Shin-hee Chin
The Exhibition:
In 2020, the Clinton Presidential Center will commemorate these
world-changing events by mounting Women’s Voices, Women’s
Votes, Women’s Rights — a vibrant, multimedia exhibit exploring
the risks women and their male allies took to win the vote, expand
democracy, and elevate human rights.
Tracing the story from the early days of slavery until today, the
exhibit recounts the struggle to adopt the 19th Amendment, pass
the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and mount a global movement for
women’s equality. Student artists bring the narrative forward, into
the present, using their work to champion equality, human rights,
and the vote.
The Art Quilts:
Women’s Voices will be as dynamic as its subject. Just as activists
seized every medium at their disposal, this exhibit will feature 18
vibrant, powerful art quilts created especially for this exhibit by
world-renowned artists. This intricate art form incorporates
stitching, photographs, painting, and text to augment the artifacts,
documents, and video used throughout the exhibit. Together,
these contemporary works of art along with historic artifacts give
voice to those who hazarded all they had to advance human rights
and secure the vote.
Courtesy of Ralph Appelbaum Associates
Courtesy of Hollis Chatelain Courtesy of Michael CummingsCourtesy of Shin-hee Chin
The Exhibition:
In 2020, the Clinton Presidential Center will commemorate these
world-changing events by mounting Women’s Voices, Women’sVotes, Women’s Rights — a vibrant, multimedia exhibit exploring
the risks women and their male allies took to win the vote, expand
democracy, and elevate human rights.
Tracing the story from the early days of slavery until today, the
exhibit recounts the struggle to adopt the 19th Amendment, pass
the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and mount a global movement for
women’s equality. Student artists bring the narrative forward, into the present, using their work to champion equality, human rights,
and the vote.
The Art Quilts:
Women’s Voices will be as dynamic as its subject. Just as activists
seized every medium at their disposal, this exhibit will feature 18
vibrant, powerful art quilts created especially for this exhibit by
world-renowned artists. This intricate art form incorporates
stitching, photographs, painting, and text to augment the artifacts,
documents, and video used throughout the exhibit. Together,
these contemporary works of art along with historic artifacts give
voice to those who hazarded all they had to advance human rights
and secure the vote.
“If there is one message that
echoes forth from this
conference, let it be that
human rights are women’srights, and women’srights are human rights,
once and for all.”
Hillary Rodham Clinton
September 5, 1995
About the Clinton Presidential Center:
Since 2004, more than 4.9 million visitors – including 435,000 students who tour at no charge – have experienced the Clinton Presidential Center. Funding for student tours is made possible through the generous support of Clinton Center
Members and Clinton Foundation donors.
The Clinton Center offers a unique perspective of the work – past, present, and future – of the 42nd President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton. It also provides year-round educational and cultural opportunities to visitors
of all ages that reflect President Clinton’s lifetime commitment to advancing opportunity for everybody, instilling responsibility throughout our society, and
cultivating a sense of community within our great nation.
Image Credits:
Front: Women March in a Suffragette Parade in Washington, D.C., ca. 1913.
Courtesy of the National Archives
Prepared by Ralph Appelbaum Associates