Sarasota News Leader

08/08/2014 & 08/15/2014

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In front of us stood a woman in a long taffeta dress, her hair pulled back into a neat sensi- ble bun. Was it a ghost? She began to speak slowly, decisively. "Robbed of the fundamental privilege of cit- izenship, I am degraded from the status of a citizen ... to that of a subject," she said, repeat- ing the words a woman told a judge decades ago. The judge dismissed a jury after instruct- ing it to find her guilty of violating the 14th Amendment. (She was a citizen, but she had dared to vote.) The speaker continued, "It was 'we the peo- ple,' not 'we, the white male citizens' nor yet 'we, the male citizens,' but 'we the whole peo- ple' who formed the union." She then recited a remark made at a 1906 gathering in Washington, D.C. "Here is a letter from President Theodore Roosevelt. It reads, 'Pray let me join you in congratulating Miss Anthony upon her 86th birthday …'" In a tone of outrage, she added, "I would rather have him say a word to Congress for our cause than to praise me endlessly." Judy Achre, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Sarasota County. Contributed photo by Nancy Hale Goethe WOMEN GATHERED TO MARK THE 94TH ANNIVERSARY OF WINNING THE RIGHT TO VOTE CONSIDER HOW MUCH MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE TO GIVE THEM EQUAL RIGHTS By Barbara Dondero Contributing Writer Sarasota News Leader August 8 & 15, 2014 Page 109

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