As we head to the polls, our ancestors would like a word
“That vote of yours has cost millions of dollars and the lives of thousands of women. Women have suffered agony of soul which you never can comprehend, that you and your daughters might inherit political freedom. That vote has been costly. Prize it. The vote is a power, a weapon of offense and defense, a prayer. Use it intelligently, conscientiously, prayerfully. Progress is calling to you to make no pause. Act.”
-Carrie Chapman Catt at the White House in 1920
In 2020, for the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment which gave women (ahem, white women) the right to vote, I created a series of five comics that told a few stories from the women’s suffrage movement. It was published at The Rumpus. The illustrations and some of the anecdotes here come from that series. Here’s the full list:
The Resistance of Red Bird (on Zitkála-Šá)
On the Delicacy and Charm of Women (Rose Schneiderman)
Women’s Rights Men (Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois)
The Substance and the Shadow (Sojourner Truth)
The War of the Roses (Carrie Chapman Catt and Juno Frankie Pierce)
Thanks for reading The Habit of Art by Kelcey Ervick, a Substack Featured Publication (twice!). I love writing and drawing these posts and am grateful to everyone who follows along. I’m a writer and professor in Indiana. If you like this newsletter, you might like my graphic memoir, The Keeper, a memoir of my life and how it was shaped by the ongoing fight for women’s rights—in this case Title IX! It was featured in the New York Times Book Review’s Holiday Gift Guide and is 40% off at the place that rhymes with Kam-a-la-a-zon. I edited a book on making comics and visual stories, you can find it here: The Field Guide to Graphic Literature (or here). I have other books too! Thanks for your support!
You've moved me to tears. I have voted in every election since I turned 21 (which was the legal voting age then). I'm 80 now, so this is my 16th time to vote for president. I vote in all the elections, not just the presidential ones. I campaigned for Shirley Chisholm, Hillary Clinton, and now Kamala Harris. I've named three cats after the suffs: Anthony B. Susan, [Elizabeth Cady] Stanton, and Lucretia Mott who I call Louie. The first two were males, Louie is female. I sincerely hope this isn't the last time I'll ever "have to vote."
Such a worthy post, Kelcey. So informative and I always love your illustrations. You make this world — and my world— a better place.