Virginia Museum of History & Culture marks centennial of 19th Amendment

As Women’s Equality Day is being celebrated nationwide, the Virginia Museum of History & Culture is collecting stories and items for an exhibit that will celebrate Virginia women as drivers of change since 1920, when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed granting women the right to vote.

The exhibit, Agents of Changes: Female Activism in Virginia from Women’s Suffrage to Today, will explore the legacies of the women’s suffrage movement with a focus on the unsung heroines who represent grass roots activism in Virginia today.

This exhibit is a signature project of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commemoration.

“We invite all Virginians to contribute to the creation of this exhibit,” said VMHC President Jamie Bosket. “We are seeking documents, photos and objects that can be shared to tell the inspirational stories of women who have played an active role in bringing change to their communities, especially in the areas of gender and race equality, politics, social justice, business and labor, education, health, the arts and culture.”

The exhibit will also feature items from the VMHC collections like this graduation cap worn by Richmond native Ginai Seabron pictured below. For her graduation from Virginia Tech in 2018, Ginai personalized her mortarboard with letters from the periodic table and other decorative details celebrating her achievement as Virginia’s first black female nanoscience graduate.

Have a story, photo, object to share? Contact Adam Scher, Vice President of Collections, at 804.342.9670 or [email protected].

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society — a private, non-profit organization established in 1831. The historical society is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia, and one of the oldest and most distinguished history organizations in the nation. For use in its state history museum and its renowned research library, the historical society cares for a collection of nearly nine million items representing the ever-evolving story of Virginia.

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is located at 428 N Arthur Ashe Boulevard in Richmond’s Museum District. Hours are Monday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the galleries and museum shop, Monday – Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for the research library. For more information call 804.340.1800, visit VirginiaHistory.org