Know what it was. Inside the exhibit shining a spotlight on the right for a woman to vote. And how a century of struggle inspires future generations of voters. For me the 19th amendment is everything. Soledad im soledad obrien. Welcome to matter of fact from the National Archives in washington, d. C. The nations archives were rounded in 1934 and today hold billions of records that tell the stories of americas history. The archives launches a new exhibit called rightfully hers comemorating the the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. Ratified by 36 states in 1920, the 19th amendment prohibited states from denying the vote on the basis of sex. It was a victory for womens rights but not for all women. For perspective, i sat down with three historians, ann gordon, the preeminent scholar on the Womens Suffrage Movement and the editor of the Elizabeth Cady stanton and Susan B Anthony papers at rutgers university, marcia chatelain, an associate professor of history and African American studies at Georgetown University, and maggie blackhawk, a law professor at the university of pennsylvania and a member of the ojibwe tribe. Talk to me about the long very long fight for women who were trying to get to write to vote and the right to vote and who were some of them the boldface names if you will who were leading this charge . Ann gordon well the the central people from the early stages of the movement to change the law were Elizabeth Cady stanton, Susan B Anthony, lucy stone. And then you really spread out very fast because its a movement that spread very fast. And it only was a long time in coming because men wouldnt say yes. The decisions were always going to be made by men who had a monopoly on the political power and they were resisting it. They did not want women to have the vote. So its a constant hammering away at the issue and i think one of the significant things about the centennial is that for all the flaws in this amendment, it was a huge change to have a law that said men you cannot presume to be in charge. Soledad interestingly i think if you were to just run out in the street and poll americans today right and say 19th amendment most wouldnt even know what it was. But those who did would say women got the right to vote. Talk to me a little bit about who was left out of that amendment. Marcia chatelain well i mean women of color broadly were left out of that amendment in the sense that when the 19th amendment is passed barriers to voting are already implemented in the south. Right. So we have these different ways whether its poll taxes, whether its literacy tests, theres already an infrastructure to disenfranchise people. Soledad and was that for africanamericans. I mean often we think of those things to really stop black people from voting. Marcia chatelain absolutely. And so when you think about black women they are not having access to the ballot. But i think whats important to understand about the passage of this amendment is the political negotiations that are made in the process of getting to that day. And in that process i think you really get the illustrative history of what happens when you try to create a Multiracial Coalition and the ways that it breaks down. Soledad when you think about native women, i mean the vote did not come to native women until the 1960s, which is insane. Talk to me a little bit about that process to getting the vote that took so so long. Maggie blackhawk i think the story of blackwhite movements is one where you just see the erasure of native people from the conversation. And thats because the complexity of native peoples just adds too much. Soledad complexity how . Legally and sort of the fact that you had sort of tribal laws . Maggie blackhawk so most native people see themselves first and foremost as represented by their native nation. And so getting the vote within the United States is less of a priority than getting recognition for inherent tribal sovereignty. And oftentimes the vote was dangled in front of native people to try and undermine tribal sovereignty. So in 1887 you had the dawes act which was the massive allotment, the breaking up of tribal lands and reservation lands trying to undermine native nations and the offering to individual native people if they swore off allegiance to their native nation with citizenship and the vote. Soledad as we go into this important centennial how do we feel about the 19th amendment . I mean is it like yay, women sort of kind of asterisk asterisk got the right to vote or is it like, yet another messy process in the direction were hoping to head as citizens of this country . Ann gordon i think its a, you know, youre beautiful but, kind of situation. But its it is a huge change in thinking about political power and governance. In that kind of beacon beacon of freedom role that the United States allegedly plays that that we play that role on this that we change the underlying assumptions but but we did it with a lot of racial assumptions put in place and with a lot of political compromises that were necessary. We did it in a kind of a messy way. Marcia chatelain when i think about teaching History College students and twanted the vote bt going to get access to it. It did not end theirol work. Soledad even though they werent working for themselves. They were inspired to keep going in the face of maybe no opportunity at all. Marcia chatelain so theyre organizing, theyre doing local level things. Theyre making sure that people arent languishing in jails like there is power in all of these places that is is outside of the vote. And i think that this is what this anniversary can remind us of that when people are disenfranchised it does not mean that they lose a sense of their own personal power. Soledad two native women are in congress which is something to celebrate although you could also be like only two native women are in congress . Maggie blackhawk i mean if you look at Voting Rights restrictions following in the 1960s, having two native women going into congress at the same time, deb holland and cherise davids, i mean its a its a huge point of pride for Indian Country and a huge inspiration for native women to just see. There was this Beautiful Image of this new congresswoman sitting in the speakers chair and it was this momentous moment to see an native woman taking that role within these so although Indian Country really fights for tribal sovereignty theres also this vision of were dual citizens. And to see us fully represented within the congress is just deeply inspiring. Soledad i appreciate the conversation. Thank you so much. Next on matteroffact what are the issues that would drive your engagement . From the past to the future, what is inspiring young women to vote today . And, beyond the 19th amendment. Some surprising items at the rightfully hers exhibit. That brings us to this really weird picture. What is it . Weird picture. What is it . All strength, we aint stoppin believe me go straight till the morning look like we all strength, no sweat free free uh. Free free, free, free. Free. Free free free thats right, turbotax free is free. Free,free free free. Thats right, tthere has never been. To have a favorite food. With new grubhub plus you get unlimited free delivery and cashback rewards for ordering noodles, and noodles. And noodles. And noodles. Grubhub plus. Free delivery, cash back, and noodles. Soledad welcome back to the National Archives. Nearly a century since winning the vote, women now vote at higher rates than men. According to the Rutgers Center for american women and politics voter turnout for women has outpaced men in every president ial election since 1980 and they voted at higher rates in the 2018 midterm as well. All age groups saw a boost in numbers. But turnout increased the most among women between the ages of 18 to 24. Naba rahman is a senior at Georgetown University and Allison Tovar is a junior at American University nice to have you with me, ladies. How would you describe yourself politically . Naba sure. So i am a registered republican but i think i would like to define myself as more of a millennial definition of that. Soledad what is a millennial definition of a registered republican . Naba thank you for asking. So i remember when i first signed up as a republican. It was me and my friend in our auditorium in florida. We were thinking, we dont necessarily agree with a lot of the direction of the Republican Party is going in but if theres one person that can push the Republican Party more towards the right then one can also push a more towards the left towards policies that we want to be seeing as the next generation. Soledad allison, youre a junior. You have also focused a lot on opportunities for women. Where are you politically . Allison so i am a registered democrat. For me i think that growing up in a very female dominated home, by my mother, who is very passionate about womens advocacy, womens work, is definitely something that shaped my idea of what is fair and what is right. Soledad what is your background . Allison im from stamford, connecticut. My mother is from east texas. So shes tejana and my fathers colombian and so its definitely those two different narratives of what it means to be latino in the United States. Soledad what are the issues that would drive you not just to the polls but do drive your engagement, for example a woman on the president ial ticket in some capacity . Is that something that would inspire you . Allison i want it to be the norm. I think writing so many articles and reading so many articles about it is important but i do hope that one day that is the norm and its not shocking or impressive that 25 of congress is made up of women. Naba i think statistically women are just as likely if not more than men to win elections. But its about getting those women in the first place to run. And one of the biggest reasons that people dont run is because theyve never seen someone who looks like them up there. And so for me it is incredibly important to see a woman be at the top of a ticket. Or other py generation to have that chance in saying you know i could do that one day. Soledad when you think that were looking at the one hundredth anniversary for the 19th amendment, how do you think about this history . How do you view it . Allison it speaks to what our nation speaks to. I think we should also celebrate those women who triumphantly succeeded in what they intended to do. But its also a chance to reflect on how can we do better. Because i think thats what gets lost in a lot of the millennial conversation, that were angry and that we just want to radicalize the system and we recognize what came before us but we absolutely believe that we can do better and we will take these strong womans ideas and opinions with us forward and just mold them into something more incredible for our future. Naba for me, the 19th amendment is everything. Any sort of political activism or voice that i have comes down to that moment. There have been significant points of progress throughout time since then. I mean theres still a lot to be made but i think that it is important to take this anniversary to recognize and appreciate what the amendment did for us. And then like she said see what we can move from here. Soledad i love that. Thank you, ladies. I appreciate it. When we come back how do you have women voting for some stuff, men can vote for everything . The Great Lengths some men went to to stop women from voting. Plus, the women who survived a night of terror to do you have concerns about mild memory loss related to aging . Prevagen is the number one pharmacistrecommended memory support brand. You can find it in the vitamin aisle in stores everywhere. Prevagen. Healthier brain. Better life. Soledad the rightfully hers exhibit here at the National Archives goes beyond just commemorating the 19th amendment. It honors the struggle women have fought for generations to have their voices included in the american democracy. It includes documents and items that are only found here at the archives. And the job of pulling a centurys worth of suffrage history falls to the curator, corinne porter. Soledad i sit on the board of the National Archives so i know how long these conversations have been going on. How did you pick as the curator between literally millions of items that you could put on display for the public . Corrine well it was a huge challenge but we obviously started with the original 19th amendment. So this is a joint resolution proposing the 19th amendment to the constitution and officially when it was ratified by three quarters of the states that officially became part of the constitution. And it just simply states that 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. Soledad which is so interesting because its kind of a negative right. It doesnt say this gives women the right to vote. It just says you cant deny someone the right to vote on account of sex. Corrine right. Its not a positive affirmation of womens right to vote but it does in effect give women the right to vote in the constitution. Soledad this document was so fascinating to me and it looks like just a regular old ledger. When is this from and what is it . Corrine its a tabular statement of the grant of limited suffrage it was written up in the 1890s. It lists out all of these instances when states gave some women some Voting Rights starting in 1838 when kentucky gave widows that owned enough taxable property the right to vote for school trustees. Soledad pretty amazing, right . So theyre saying basically sure women can vote under this circumstance in the 1800s. What stuck out the most in this document . Corrine i just love to see all the different classes of groups of women, the qualifications and then the extent of privilege in terms meaning what theyre actually allowed to vote for. Soledad so that brings us to this really weird picture. Looks like a room. What is it . Corrine its actually a patent drawing for a voting machine. And as states gave women some Voting Rights that creates an issue because you have men that can vote for whatever on election day. But women that can only vote in certain elections. So that creates a bit of a management issue. Soledad so how do you have women voting for some stuff, men can vote for everything, certain women can vote for certain things, and yet they have to go through the same voting booth . Corrine so on the patent you see theres entrance on the left for ladies and entrance on the right for gents. And then this very complicated system of gears and levers is attached to those doors. So obviously the women would go through the entrance on the left and that would operate those levers to basically restrict the voting options only to what they were allowed to vote for. Soledad so the door triggered what you would have access to. What do you hope that the visitors to the exhibit take away . So few people i think really understand the 19th amendment and frankly the path to the 19th amendment. The struggle to get Voting Rights for women. Corrine well i certainly hope that people learn that struggles triumphant moments are often theres often more to the story than we realize. Coming up next, how the fight to win the vote for women was more than just political. The women say they were beaten and tortured. Plus, do you know the difference between a suffragette soledad one of the darkest episodes in the Womens Suffrage Movement is known as the night of terror. It happened on november 14th, 1917. 33 suffragists were arrested after protesting in front of the white house. And were taken to the occoquan workhouse in lorton, virginia about 20 miles outside of washington, d. C. There, the women say they were beaten and tortured by the male prison guards. Lucy burns, cofounder of the National Womens party, was stripped naked, her hands chained to an iron bar that was raised over her head. She was forced to stand all night. Dora lewis was thrown into her cell and knocked unconscious after hitting her head on an iron bed. When some of the women went on a hunger strike, they were force fed raw eggs and milk until they were sick. The suffragists remained in the prison for two weeks, until a judge dismissed the charges. The treatment they received got National Attention and is considered a Pivotal Moment in the suffrage movement. Two months later, in january, 1918, president woodrow wilson, changed his position and began to support the 19th amendment. When we return did you notice throughout the show, we didnt use the term suffragett when our daughter and her kids moved in with us. Kids, bedtime . She was worried we wouldnt be able to keep up. Course we can. What couldnt keep up was our bargain detergent. Turns out its mostly water, and that doesnt work as well on stains. So, we switched back to tide. One wash, stains are gone. Kind of like our quiet time. [daughter slurping] what are you doing . Dont pay for water. Tide is concentrated with three times the active cleaning ingredients. If its got to be clean, its got to be tide. Soledad finally, did you notice throughout the show that we didnt use the term, suffragette . Theres a reason and it requires a bit of a grammar lesson. The Womens Suffrage Movement happened in Great Britain and america at around the same time and in 1906 a british reporter wrote about the activists calling them suffragettes. Suffrage means the right to vote in a political election. But adding ette, as in suffragette, gives the word a smaller or more diminutive meaning. Basically, the reporter and many other men were mocking the suffragists. Activists in britain decided to reclaim the term and embrace it. But not in america where they preferred the more serious term suffragist, meaning any person who supported giving women the right to vote. Today, suffragette is more widely used globally but not here in the u. S. Thats it for our special look at the 19th amendment from outside the National Archives in washington, d. C. The rightfully exhibit runs through january, 2021. Well see back here next week everybody. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] when we face adversity, we find a way through it. Its about taking care of each other. Its the small parts that make a big difference. At chevy, we promise to do ours. Were offering chevy owners complimentary onstar crisis assist services and wifi data. If you need a new chevy, interestfree financing for 84 months with deferred payments for 120 days on many of our most popular models. You may even shop online and take delivery at home. Its just our way of doing our part. Robert handa hello, welcome to a holiday Asian Pacific america show. Im robert handa, your host for our show here on nbc bay area and cozi tv. Today we feature a music legend, june kuramoto, who along with husband dan kuramoto, formed the iconic band hiroshima. June, our first musical guest when we launched our show five years ago, plays the traditional instrument, the koto, but in a very contemporary style. Shes branching off with solo efforts and we caught up with her at the Hakone Foundation gala at Hakone Gardens in saratoga where, along with band mate, kimo cornwell, she showed off her everexpanding skills. We talked to her about it, about hiroshima, and about music