Champaign Mayor Deborah Feinen (center) and Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin (right) signed a proclamation declaring Feb. 14, 2020 League of Women Voters Day. The mayors read the joint proclamation aloud at the Urbana Free Library on Tuesday, March 3, the evening of the Book Group discussion of “The Woman’s Hour.”

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS DAY in the cities of Urbana and Champaign and celebrates its vision of a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge, and the confidence to participate.

The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss was the second book selected for our League’s ongoing Book Club series. More than twenty people came to the Urbana Free Library on March 3rd to discuss the book, including one of our fifty-year members, Lizie Goldwasser, who turned one hundred in March. Carol Inskeep, UFL adult services librarian, and Teresa Barnes, UIUC professor of Gender and Women Studies and Director of the Center of African Studies, led the discussion.

The story of how America’s women won the right to vote by convincing a narrow majority of Tennessee legislators to vote for the 19th amendment is a fascinating read. Weiss tells the story of the divisions within the suffrage movement itself which was tainted by racism and the story of the Antis who worked equally hard to make sure women did not get the vote.

Plans are to hold the next Book Club discussion in September, 2020. The selection will be Why We’re Polarized by Ezra Klein. Watch this site for details.