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."
Thank you so much. I read this after working another shift on the NC Dems voter-protection hotline. It amazes me that with history like you so beautifully captured and ongoing attempts to disenfranchise people, that many take their right to vote so casually. Thanks to all who work for voting rights, fair elections, and a peaceful and just society.
Excellent reminders about the high price paid for American women's right to vote! And amazing art, Kelcey. ♥️ (I wish I had such an established recognizable art style.) Thank you!
Thanks, Kat! And I appreciate the comment about the art style but OMG do I feel like I’m all over the place! The comics look different from the portraits and different from my Substack! 😂 But as I’ve told my (writing) students, we often don’t realize the through-lines in our own work that brings them together.
Really stunning - thank you for such a thoughtful and well thought out piece of history - beautifully illustrated! The Crisis is magazine I use a lot for sourcing poems for my newsletter so it is very cool to see that mentioned too :-)
A pleasure :-) Yeah - it's a such a great magazine! That and Opportunity, an earlier journal with a similar focus. Oh thanks - I really should update the Forgotten Prints more often, it's fallen a bit by the wayside - you've inspired me to get back on that!
I bet. My husband won’t stop talking about it. I’m kind of resolutely not thinking about it, in the spirit of “we don’t know what’s going to happen, so I’m not going to stress about it before the fact”. But I’m probably just in some kind of denial 😄
This was so fun to read, and i LOVE that you mentioned Zitkala-Sa! She's one of my favorites! I have her picture in my writing room, so I knew who your picture represented even before I saw her name.
Thanks, Ashley! That's awesome about Zitkala-Sa! She was such a badass. I created a full comic about her (linked in the post) inspired by the biography RED BIRD, RED POWER.
Kelcy, this was a wonderful post! And so informative. What I found (sadly) mind-blowing in the past week was this story (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/03/harris-wife-trump-husband-ad/) of the silent campaign reminding women that their vote is their own and that they don't have to vote the way their husband or partner vote. There's something so beautiful about its simplicity, but what blows my mind is that we have to remind women of this in 2024!! We've come a loooooong way, baby, but we must still do better ❤️
Yikes. There’s something going on here. I would never knowingly admit to crying …but here I go. And the uncanny thing is that when I began to read other comments here, that is what people were saying they were doing too.
I think it is the moving quality of the application of your talent to the election , the way you have used your skill so incisively and perceptively to both pay tribute to people from the past, ancestors, who applied their thinking and their emotions to the issue, and to inspire today’s people with their example.
And, interestingly, here in the UK there was a very excited piece on the news about the very recent Iowa polling and the role women are playing in that.
Hey Kelsey, I hope my replies reflect what I dig in your posts.
I was thinking about what seems to happen a fair bit here on Substack…or what seems to me to happen: I hardly ever see anyone criticising or disagreeing in a creative debate; it tends all to be very supportive and affirmative. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not having a downer on supportive and affirmative: we all need that; but I wonder if there’s a fear that an honest disagreement about a post expressed with integrity and in the spirit of the love of writing and reading could too easily tip over into screaming rows and trolling and because nobody wants any of that, we all just support one another by saying kind things. I don’t know if there is an answer, or even if this is something others think about, or whether criticism would get lost without the nuance of face-to-face conversation and would just be misunderstood.
Hey Nicholas, I'm finally catching up after a rough election week. I think you're right about the hyper affirmative aspect of Substack. I got a PhD with a steady flow of creative writing workshops where the whole point was critique (usually kindly, but still), so I was struck when I entered into online spaces that were mostly about hype. At first I thought it was lame, but I've come to really appreciate it. I'm not looking to be workshopped here, I'm just trying to express some ideas and share experiences. And your comments are super specific and show that you've really thought about what I've said, which, like, HELLO, you're a person in another country, and here we are having actual conversations!
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."
Wow, what a story, Sandra! Thanks for sharing! I love your cat names!!! Perfect! 😻
Such a worthy post, Kelcey. So informative and I always love your illustrations. You make this world — and my world— a better place.
That means a lot, Jane. Thank you! 🥰
Amazing. That was the best history lesson I've ever had. They need to have you write and illustrate textbooks, it's much more engaging.
Oh thank you, Renee! I love sharing these stories. ❤️
I agree! Kelcey should definitely write and illustrate textbooks!
❤️❤️❤️
Brilliant. Wonderful. Profound. We all should send this on to spread the word, picture and art, truth further.
Thank you, dear Jay! Fingers crossed for Tuesday.
Well, this made me cry, though almost everything does lately. Beautiful stuff.
Thanks, Robyn. It’s an emotional and tense time!
It truly is.
Thank you so much. I read this after working another shift on the NC Dems voter-protection hotline. It amazes me that with history like you so beautifully captured and ongoing attempts to disenfranchise people, that many take their right to vote so casually. Thanks to all who work for voting rights, fair elections, and a peaceful and just society.
Thank YOU for work for voter protection and fair elections, Linda! ❤️🌼
Excellent reminders about the high price paid for American women's right to vote! And amazing art, Kelcey. ♥️ (I wish I had such an established recognizable art style.) Thank you!
Thanks, Kat! And I appreciate the comment about the art style but OMG do I feel like I’m all over the place! The comics look different from the portraits and different from my Substack! 😂 But as I’ve told my (writing) students, we often don’t realize the through-lines in our own work that brings them together.
Really stunning - thank you for such a thoughtful and well thought out piece of history - beautifully illustrated! The Crisis is magazine I use a lot for sourcing poems for my newsletter so it is very cool to see that mentioned too :-)
Thank you, Dick! And wow, how cool that you source poems from The Crisis. I also dig the forgotten prints!
A pleasure :-) Yeah - it's a such a great magazine! That and Opportunity, an earlier journal with a similar focus. Oh thanks - I really should update the Forgotten Prints more often, it's fallen a bit by the wayside - you've inspired me to get back on that!
Well there’s plenty of prints for a newbie! But it’s all a treasure you’re collecting!
Beautiful. Good luck on Tuesday. We're scared up here too.
So nerve-wracking! ❤️🌼
I bet. My husband won’t stop talking about it. I’m kind of resolutely not thinking about it, in the spirit of “we don’t know what’s going to happen, so I’m not going to stress about it before the fact”. But I’m probably just in some kind of denial 😄
I fluctuate between both of your responses!
This was so fun to read, and i LOVE that you mentioned Zitkala-Sa! She's one of my favorites! I have her picture in my writing room, so I knew who your picture represented even before I saw her name.
Thanks, Ashley! That's awesome about Zitkala-Sa! She was such a badass. I created a full comic about her (linked in the post) inspired by the biography RED BIRD, RED POWER.
🏵
What a piece—masterful and moving!
Thanks, Steve!
dear kelcey,
a beautiful piece! thank you for sharing!
love
myq
PS anyone who isn't kelcey but who is reading these words, look at this piece! beautiful art, beautiful words, beautiful sentiment!
Well done Honey! The comments below capture things much better than I can. So proud of you! 👍
Thanks, Dad! ❤️🥰❤️
Kelcy, this was a wonderful post! And so informative. What I found (sadly) mind-blowing in the past week was this story (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/03/harris-wife-trump-husband-ad/) of the silent campaign reminding women that their vote is their own and that they don't have to vote the way their husband or partner vote. There's something so beautiful about its simplicity, but what blows my mind is that we have to remind women of this in 2024!! We've come a loooooong way, baby, but we must still do better ❤️
Thanks, Mollie! Yes that campaign is really something! Lots more work to do!
Yikes. There’s something going on here. I would never knowingly admit to crying …but here I go. And the uncanny thing is that when I began to read other comments here, that is what people were saying they were doing too.
I think it is the moving quality of the application of your talent to the election , the way you have used your skill so incisively and perceptively to both pay tribute to people from the past, ancestors, who applied their thinking and their emotions to the issue, and to inspire today’s people with their example.
And, interestingly, here in the UK there was a very excited piece on the news about the very recent Iowa polling and the role women are playing in that.
I loved this piece very much.
Aw thank you so much, Nicolas. You always have the kindest replies.
I'm glad to hear the Iowa news made its way across the pond. Fingers crossed!
Hey Kelsey, I hope my replies reflect what I dig in your posts.
I was thinking about what seems to happen a fair bit here on Substack…or what seems to me to happen: I hardly ever see anyone criticising or disagreeing in a creative debate; it tends all to be very supportive and affirmative. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not having a downer on supportive and affirmative: we all need that; but I wonder if there’s a fear that an honest disagreement about a post expressed with integrity and in the spirit of the love of writing and reading could too easily tip over into screaming rows and trolling and because nobody wants any of that, we all just support one another by saying kind things. I don’t know if there is an answer, or even if this is something others think about, or whether criticism would get lost without the nuance of face-to-face conversation and would just be misunderstood.
But hey what I do know is:💙🤞💙🤞💙🤞💙🤞💙
Hey Nicholas, I'm finally catching up after a rough election week. I think you're right about the hyper affirmative aspect of Substack. I got a PhD with a steady flow of creative writing workshops where the whole point was critique (usually kindly, but still), so I was struck when I entered into online spaces that were mostly about hype. At first I thought it was lame, but I've come to really appreciate it. I'm not looking to be workshopped here, I'm just trying to express some ideas and share experiences. And your comments are super specific and show that you've really thought about what I've said, which, like, HELLO, you're a person in another country, and here we are having actual conversations!