First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom to Host 19th Amendment Centennial Celebration Webcast & Exhibit Launch on Tuesday, Aug. 18 at the California Museum

Free event to feature the First Partner in discussion with Maria Shriver, Megan Rapinoe & Dolores Huerta, plus preview of new exhibits “Women Inspire: California Women Changing Our World” & “Fight for the Right: 100 Years of Women Voting”

SACRAMENTO, CALIF. — Aug. 10, 2020: Today, the California Museum announced the event “California Women Inspire: Celebrating Women’s Equality in the Golden State” will be streamed in a YouTube webcast at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2020. The free virtual event is hosted by First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California’s representative on the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, and features discussions on women’s equality with former First Lady Maria Shriver, Megan Rapinoe and Dolores Huerta. In addition, the event will preview two new exhibits developed in collaboration with First Partner Siebel Newsom, “Women Inspire: California Women Changing Our World” and “Fight for the Right: 100 Years of Women Voting.”

“As a member of the national Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, It has been my honor to work with the California Museum to develop these new exhibits that celebrate and uplift women’s stories,” said First Partner Siebel Newsom. “On the 100th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote, there is much to celebrate, and still so much more work to be done to fully achieve women’s equality. It is my hope that this event and these new exhibits will inspire the next generation of young women to take up the mantle for equality.”

The Museum’s two new exhibits previewed during the event showcase the past, present and future of California women and were created in collaboration with First Partner Siebel Newsom. “Women Inspire: California Women Changing Our World” is a new long-term installation showcasing California women whose achievements have helped create a more equitable society. The second project, “Fight for the Right: 100 Years of Women Voting,” is a new temporary exhibit celebrating the 19th Amendment’s centennial through a display of more than 70 artifacts from the 1870s to the present, including original campaign memorabilia, historic documents, suffragist apparel, voting ephemera and more. Both exhibits will be on view to the public when indoor museums are cleared to reopen by the California Department of Public Health; selections from the two new exhibits will be available to view online during the Museum’s temporary closure through its partnership with Google Arts and Culture.

The achievement of women’s suffrage through the passage of the 19th Amendment was the single largest extension of voting rights in American history. The campaign persevered for more than 70 years and multiple generations of American women, whose persistent activism laid the foundation for the continued fight for women’s equality today. Although California was the 18th state to ratify the 19th Amendment on Nov. 1, 1919, the state first granted women the right to vote in 1911 through the passage of Proposition 4. The initiative passed by just 3,587 votes — a margin equivalent to a single vote in each precinct. Proposition 4 reenergized suffragists and spurred renewed efforts across the nation. Tennessee became the 36th and final state to ratify the 19th Amendment on August 18, 1920, and the amendment’s adoption was certified on August 26, 1920, the culmination of a decades-long struggle for women’s equality at the ballot box.

To learn more about the Museum’s operations during COVID-19, go to https://californiamuseum.org/covid-19.  For details on the webcast event and related exhibits, visit https://californiamuseum.org/ca-women.