Students celebrate Women’s Suffrage

In celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment, district students recently participated in a Women’s Suffrage Centennial Open House hosted at the Surprise City Hall on Tuesday, March 3, 2020. The event featured a performance by the Willow Canyon High School Choir, book displays, a traveling exhibit, and suffragist reenactors from Canyon Ridge School.

The Roving Suffragist reenactment featured nine middle level students from Canyon Ridge, performing as “roaming suffragists,” dressed in costume and greeting guests in the City Hall Courtyard. The students shared experiences from their lives in the early twentieth century and elaborated in the historical contributions they made in securing the right to vote for American women. The students portrayed a wide range of suffragists from Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Frederick Douglass and Alice Paul. In addition to presenting information based on research and primary documents, the students also fielded a number of detailed questions from members of the public. Some of these inquiries came from local leaders such as City of Surprise Mayor Skip Hall and members of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and League of Women Voters. 

The event also featured a multi-panel traveling exhibit created by the nonprofit organization, Arizona Questers. The purpose of the exhibit is to trace the historical and cultural realities that shaped the struggle of women’s civil rights, and to highlight the civic involvement of women throughout American history. 

Continuing in the celebration, the exhibit also made a stop at Canyon Ridge School where students of all grade levels were able to experience the exhibit and learn the importance of Women’s Suffrage. Students had the opportunity to serve as tour guides, presenters, as well as create bulletin boards featuring letters to the editor in support of suffrage, drawings, buttons and sashes, which were displayed and offered as keepsakes for visitors. 

In celebration of the 100th anniversary, the exhibit will continue its tour with stops at several libraries, museums, schools, cities, and events around the state, some of which include Sunset Hills Elementary School, the Dysart District Office, Shadow Ridge High School, and Surprise Elementary School. 

The Questers Organization seeks to keep history alive by supporting preservation, restoration and education. There are currently 28 Questers chapters in Arizona, and over 600 across the country.