WASHINGTON, July 13, 2020 — To mark the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the ABA Commission on the 19th Amendment and the Georgetown Law Journal published a special edition commemorating the anniversary. Articles in the publication address the 19th Amendment as it pertains to women’s rights, the intersectionality of gender and race, marriage equality and voting rights.
Judge M. Margaret McKeown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and chair of the ABA Commission on the 19th Amendment, contributed the Foreword. The issue also includes an excerpted transcript of a discussion on the amendment’s implications between U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Judge McKeown at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., in February.
“The ABA Commission on the 19th Amendment is educating the public about how the ratification of the amendment changed the course of our democracy, how those who fought for women’s right to vote never gave up, and how the fight for gender equity continues today,” ABA President Judy Perry Martinez said. “This special issue of the Georgetown Law Journal, which shines a spotlight on the progress made over the last 100 years on voting rights and women’s rights and the work still to be done, is a must read for all who care about the future of our nation and the role of women in achieving its full potential.”
“The Georgetown Law Journal’s staff and editors are proud to publish a special issue celebrating the 19th Amendment, said Grace Paras, editor-in-chief of the journal. “We are thankful to our authors for writing creative pieces and to Justice Ginsburg for her graciousness in allowing us to publish her remarks. I hope that these reflections on the 19th Amendment shed light on how far we have come, and how much further we must go, to achieve social and political progress for women and people of color.”
The issue is part of the ABA’s year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. Resources available to the profession and the public include a traveling exhibit called “100 Years After the 19th Amendment: Their Legacy, and Our Future” and curated by the Library of Congress; digital tool kits to help support public and student programming; free streaming videos that can be used for commemoration events and programs; information on displaying the traveling exhibit; links to other organizations planning commemoration activities; state anniversary dates; interesting facts about the 19th Amendment and the battle for full suffrage; and a gallery of 19th Amendment images and photos.
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