March 2022
About This Exhibit
Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence was the history of the fight to pass the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote 100 years ago. Based on a National Portrait Gallery exhibition of the same name, the exhibition addressed women’s political activism, along with the racism that challenged universal suffrage. With historic images and text about key moments in the struggle that lasted for decades, the exhibition detailed the complexity of the women’s suffrage movement. Today’s challenges over voting and voting rights are part of a much longer national conversation.
Grinnell College is proud to be a Smithsonian affiliate, part of a national outreach program that develops long-term collaborative partnerships with museums and educational and cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian resources. As a Smithsonian affiliate, the College was able to offer three virtual lectures to celebrate Women’s History Month in the month of March.
- March 10 — Lena Richard and Julia Child: Two Women Who Changed Culinary History
Through their cookbooks, teaching, and television programs, these extraordinary women inspired generations of people to take cooking seriously. They challenged perceptions and stereotypes of women in their respective eras and made lasting contributions to culinary history. Their stories, reflective of their very different backgrounds, reveal insights about women, race, food, and culture in 20th Century America. Featuring: Paula Johnson, curator, National Museum of American History, and Ashley Rose Young, Ph.D., historian, National Museum of American History -
March 17 — Women in Aerospace: Stories from the Smithsonian Collection
Margaret Weitekamp has researched and written on how a groundswell of support helped create a Lego set representing women’s contributions to aerospace. Join a discussion of how women have worked from the very beginning of aviation to innovate and how museums have documented their stories. Featuring: Margaret Weitekamp, Ph.D., curator and department chair, Space History Department, National Air and Space Museum -
March 24 — Ancient Worlds Contemporary Selves: Smithsonian Scholars Explore Intersectionality
Scholars from the National Museum of the American Indian, Asian Pacific American Center, and Smithsonian American Art Museum explore how artists integrate the ancient world within their contemporary artistic practice. In so doing, their works update and create new meanings, allowing them to pass on complex and layered cultural interpretations to future generations. Featuring: Michelle Delaney, Ph.D., assistant director for history and culture, Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian; Healoha Johnston, curator, Asian Pacific American women's cultural history, Smithsonian's Asian Pacific American Center; and Claudia Zapata, curatorial assistant, Smithsonian American Art Museum
Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in collaboration with the National Portrait Gallery. This project received support from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative. The exhibition in Grinnell was presented under the auspices of Grinnell College, a Smithsonian Affiliate, and the League of Women Voters, funded in part with a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Thanks to the talented staff at Total Choice Shipping and Printing and to Rachel Bly ’93 and Bob Hamilton for the use of their windows to display the exhibition to benefit everyone.