Aura Lewis - The Illustrated Feminist: 100 Years of Suffrage, Strength, and Sisterhood in America

How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

MAYA ANGELOU

Editors: Ashley Albert and Madeline Jaffe
Designer: Diane Shaw
Production Manager: Rebecca Westall

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019939760

ISBN: 978-1-4197-4211-8
eISBN: 978-1-68335-888-6

Text and illustrations copyright 2020 Aura Lewis

Cover 2020 Abrams

Published in 2020 by Abrams Image, an imprint of ABRAMS. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher.

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Ladies, were here to celebrate! Lets celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of American women being granted the right to vote in 1920. Lets celebrate ten decades of progress in womens rights. Lets celebrate the successful, radical-thinking, home-in-the-kitchen, out-in-the-workforce, up-to-bat, political, artistic, scientific, forward-moving women! Lets celebrate feminismwith strength and style!

We have ten chapters in this book, for ten decades of progress, backslides, backlash, and transformation related to the advancement of women.

Each chapter features ten notable women, events, achievements, or movements in feminism from that decade. You can open the book to any page and discover a pivotal moment from the past century, or visit with a favorite female icon. Or you can read chronologically to get a feel for the vast and sweeping history of American womenhow far weve come, and how far weve yet to go. You can immerse yourself in a particular decade, or pick and choose your who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Between these pages live fascinating stories of trailblazing women in business, popular culture, politics, the arts, and sports. You might be surprised to hear about important laws, social movements, and feminist theories. There are some illuminating statistics, tooboth positive and negative. And there are suggested readings and notes in the back, for when youre inspired to dive in further.

In so many ways, women have more opportunities and greater equality now than ever before. These achievements, however, have not come easily. Millions of women have fought to change our societys deeply rooted gender biases and inequalities. These women worked hard for success and for justice, amid daunting obstacles and opposition. They are our foremotherspioneers who are proud to have paved this path for us to tread now.

This book is by no means intended to be a complete and comprehensive history of American feminism in the past century. Rather, it is a curated collection of some key moments and figures, in hopes that it will light a fire under feminists new and old to learn more and bring these lessons into their own lives.

Lets continue this inspiring story... and lets celebrate it!

The best way for us to cultivate fearlessness in our daughters and other young women is by example. If they see their mothers and other women in their lives going forward despite fear, theyll know its possible.

GLORIA STEINEM

The Roaring Twenties started with a bang! The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, and women were granted suffrage: the right to vote. After so many years of protesting and fighting (as part of the first wave of American feminism), womens voices began to be heard.

Change was in the air. It was the Jazz Age, and women were swept up in its energyin the syncopated rhythms of the music, the bold fashion, and the scene.

A growing number of women went to work and became involved in public life. Every day, more and more women could be seen driving cars, smoking publicly, and dancing in clubs. For the first time, there was a female governor (see

Fashion began to reflect these radical changes in womens lives. Clothes were made to be more comfortable, for mobility and activity. No more corsets! Shorter dresses! Bobbed hair! Freedom of expression! Young women reveled in this newfound freedom.

The word of the day was MODERN.

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.

THE NINETEENTH AMENDMENT

They struggled. For decades. Finally, in 1920, women were granted the right to vote.

The SheppardTowner Maternity and Infancy Act was the first federally funded health-care program and is considered an important milestone in the history of social welfare programs in the United States. It was first introduced by Representative Jeannette Rankin (18801973) of Montana in July 1918. Womens groups lobbied for years to pass it, and it became the first major legislation following their enfranchisement. The act provided money for five-year periods and helped to establish three thousand prenatal and child health-care centers, mostly in rural areas. The goal: to reduce high mortality rates among mothers and newborns. Sadly, in 1929, the funding was ended after opposition by the American Medical Association, which saw the act as a socialist threat to its professional autonomy.