March is Irish-American Heritage Month as well as Women’s History Month. As discussed in our Ex Libris Juris blog post on 3/8/2021, the Women’s History Month theme for 2021 is “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced.” In recognition of all these things, today’s post features famous Irish-American suffragist Lucy Burns.
Read moreWomen’s History Month 2021: The Suffrage Centennial Celebration Continues
March is Women’s History Month, and the theme for 2021 is “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced.” Harris County Robert W. Hainsworth Law Library has an on-demand CLE recording of its 19th Amendment Centennial Symposium from last August, entitled “Votes for Texas Women,” which is available here.
Read moreVotes for Texas Women Celebrates Today's 19th Amendment Centennial Anniversary
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
— United States Constitution, Amendment XIX, Ratified August 18, 1920
On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment, thereby adding it to the Constitution of the United States. Finally, after decades of campaigning for the right to vote, protesting and petitioning their representatives, and facing opposition and, even, imprisonment, suffragists achieved their goal of a national constitutional amendment.
Today, to commemorate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the Harris County Law Library is hosting virtual symposium featuring three accomplished women from our local legal community, Marie Jamison, Partner at Wright Close & Barger, Professor Renee Knake Jefferson, and Justice Frances Bourliot. They will discuss the history of voting rights for women and the importance of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.
For details on the symposium, please visit Votes for Texas Women online.
A list of Further Reading, available here and at the link below, will connect you to resources that trace the fight for women’s suffrage from its origins at the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848 to the full ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Harris County Law Library Offers 19th Amendment Centennial Symposium to All
For Immediate Release
August 14, 2020
The Harris County Law Library announces a virtual 19th Amendment Centennial Symposium on Tuesday, August 18, from 2pm to 4pm. The event, titled “Votes for Texas Women,” will focus on the history of women’s suffrage and the importance of inclusion in law and government.
“We are thrilled to offer this educational opportunity to everyone on the 100th anniversary of the day the 19th Amendment was ratified,” Law Library Director Mariann Sears said. “We hope that sharing the stories from the historical and legal texts of the brave women who fought for the right to vote by protesting and reaching out to their representatives, even as the 1918 pandemic raged on, can connect more people with the rich history surrounding the amendment.”
Mariann Sears, the first woman to serve as director of the Law Library, will welcome three distinguished women from the local legal community to share their expertise. Marie Jamison, a partner at Wright Close & Barger, will share her research into the history of the 19th Amendment and the progress made in the century that followed. Professor Renee Knake Jefferson, the Joanne and Larry Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics Director at University of Houston Law Center and author of Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court, will discuss her research concerning the overlooked history of the nine women who were shortlisted for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court, but not nominated between the 1930s and 1980s. Justice Frances Bourliot, Fourteenth Court of Appeals Texas, will discuss the importance of inclusion on the bench and her experience as an appellate justice.
“The passage of the 19th Amendment, which prohibited denying a person the right to vote on the basis of sex, was an important step toward protecting voting rights in America,” County Attorney Vince Ryan said. “We are pleased with the Law Library’s efforts to celebrate the legacy of women’s suffrage and the contributions of women in law and government over the last century.”
Registration is now open and free to all at https://www.harriscountylawlibrary.org/19thamendment. The program is accredited by the State Bar of Texas for 2.0 hours of continuing legal education credit with 1.0 hour of ethics credit. In addition to the Harris County Attorney’s Office, this Law Library program is made possible with the support of the Houston Bar Association, League of Women Voters of Houston, and Women of Law.
About the Harris County Law Library
The Harris County Law Library opened in 1915 and has continued to serve Harris County’s legal information needs for more than a century. After joining the Office of Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney, in 2011, the Law Library greatly expanded its technology offerings and services to the public. Ryan’s support for the revitalization of the Law Library was recognized by the American Association of Law Libraries in 2016 when he was named the Law Library Advocate of the Year. To learn more about services and digital collections, visit the Harris County Law Library Virtual Reference Desk at https://www.harriscountylawlibrary.org.
Votes for Texas Women: 19th Amendment Centennial Symposium
Harris County Law Library is hosting a symposium in honor of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the progress made by the women’s suffrage movement. Registration is now open for this important program, which be held on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, from 2 p.m.-4 p.m., via GoToWebinar. Attendees can receive 2.0 hours CLE, including 1.0 hours ethics in Texas, provided by the Harris County Attorney’s Office.
Law Library Director Mariann Sears, the first woman to serve as Director of the Law Library, will open the symposium by welcoming three notable women in the legal profession to discuss the history of voting rights for women and the importance of inclusion in law and government. The speakers include: Marie Jamison, a partner at Wright, Close & Barger, who will share her research into the history of the 19th Amendment and the progress that followed; Renee Knake Jefferson, a professor at University of Houston Law Center, who will discuss the research for her book, Shortlisted: Women in the Shadows of the Supreme Court, and Justice Frances Bourliot, a judge for the Texas 14th Court of Appeals, who will discuss the importance of inclusion on the bench and share her experience as an appellate justice.
The date selected for the symposium is the 100th anniversary of ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920. On that day, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, which Congress passed on June 4, 1919, and Texas ratified on June 28, 1919. To learn more about the path of the 19th Amendment toward ratification and the history of the brave suffragists, like Jovita Idar, who pressed for the right to vote in Texas, visit the exhibit “Texas and the 19th Amendment” from the National Parks Service.
