Norfolk Public Library Honors Valiant Women of the Vote during Women’s History Month

Norfolk Public Library (NPL) is taking time to reflect on the struggles and accomplishments of these valiant women in American history with free programs for all ages.

NORFOLK, VA – March is Women’s History Month, and the year 2020 marks the centennial of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Valiant Women of the Vote is the national Women’s History Month theme this year, which celebrates the women who’ve fought and continued the struggle against poll taxes, literacy tests, voter roll purges and other forms of modern-day voter suppression, to ensure voting rights for all.

Norfolk Public Library (NPL) is taking time to reflect on the struggles and accomplishments of these valiant women in American history with free programs for all ages. NPL programs are always free and open to the public.

Opening weekend kicks off with a Freedom Concert on Sunday, March 1 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Chrysler Museum of Art at One Memorial Place in Norfolk, Virginia.  The Elbert Watson Dance Company and I. Sherman Greene Chorale will perform in commemoration of 150 years of fighting for women’s voting rights in America.

Come to brunch and a panel discussion on Saturday, March 7 at 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Janaf Branch Library at 124 Janaf Shopping Center.  Women’s Rights – The Vote and Beyond will focus on issues and topics related to voting rights, pay equity, gun violence and the #MeToo movement.  Panelists include Becky Livas, entertainer and former educator, Tonya Shell (Poetikk), adjunct professor at Old Dominion University and Bryant & Stratton College, and others. Please call 757-441-5660 to register for this event. 

Join us at Jordan-Newby Anchor Branch Library, 1425 Norchester Avenue, on Saturday, March 21 at 11 a.m., and be empowered by author and motivational speaker Nicole Cleveland. Cleveland is also owner of Breathe Again Magazine and host of the radio podcast Breathe Again. In this power-packed session, Cleveland will share her victorious story and offer tools and resources for surviving setbacks and disappointments, loss, breakups and divorce. 

In partnership with Norfolk State University (NSU), NPL is honored to host Author Charlene Butts Ligon on Tuesday, March 24 at noon at NSU’s Lyman Beecher Brooks Library Rotunda at 700 Park Avenue. Ligon will discuss her book, FEARLESS: How a poor Virginia seamstress took on Jim Crow, beat the poll tax and changed her city forever, which tells the courageous story of Ligon’s mother, Evelyn Thomas Butts (1924-1993), a powerful civil rights activist and voting rights champion who challenged the poll tax before the United States Supreme Court and won.

With the year 2020 being an election year, NPL encourages you to deepen your understanding of the history of voting rights in America. Attend a program and visit your favorite neighborhood branch to talk with a librarian about the wide range of resources NPL has available online and in the branches. For a complete list of Women’s History Month events, visit norfolkpubliclibrary.org.