Suff Squad

The 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote was too big a moment to let pass quietly — so ERA NOW set out to make sure Grand Forks marked it properly. We brought the idea to the city, and on October 3, 2019, Mayor Michael R. Brown answered the call, signing a proclamation that made it official. His proclamation honored the giants of the national suffrage movement — Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, and more — alongside North Dakota’s own trailblazers: Linda Slaughter of Bismarck, Dr. Cora Smith of Grand Forks, Elizabeth Preston Anderson of Valley City, Kate Selby Wilder of Fargo, Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin of Pembina, and Beulah Amidon of Fargo. It called on the community to mark the moment with parades, panels, performances, and art.

We were thrilled to partner with the National Woman’s Party and UND Art Collections to bring that vision to life at the Empire Arts Center. The result was Our Voices, Our Votes: a day-long celebration featuring a suffrage history exhibit, a “Voices in Leadership” panel with former Senator Heidi Heitkamp and North Dakota state legislators, the juried Her Votes Count art exhibition, a live dance performance, and a screening of Iron Jawed Angels.

Out of that partnership came something we still carry with us today: a set of National Woman’s Party banners, customized to weave in North Dakota’s own suffrage history. They’re a living piece of that 2019 celebration — and now it’s your turn to help carry the knowledge forward.

Join the Suff Squad. Keep women’s history and vote moving forward. We’d love to have you.