Cape Fear Museum opens traveling exhibition exploring women’s equality

April 1, 2021

WWAY News,

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Cape Fear Museum of History and Science will open a new exhibition, One Half of the People: Advancing Equality for Women, on Friday.

Organized by the National Archives, this exhibit explores how those before us obtained the rights and privileges of citizenship promised to women today. You can check out the exhibit through May 25.

One Half of the People is divided into three sections:

Securing the Vote: Suffragists celebrated a significant constitutional victory when the 19^th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. The 19th Amendment profoundly changed the electorate sending more people to the polls than ever before. However, it was one milestone in a long road to full voting rights for all women. Millions of women remained unable to vote for reasons other than their gender.
Beyond the Vote: Once women had the right to vote they were citizens. Or were they? After the 19^th Amendment was ratified in 1920, women continued to demand equal rights guaranteed by the Constitution. First proposing an Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in 1923, Congress proposed it every session until it was passed in 1972. Although the ERA ultimately failed to achieve ratification in 1982, legal victories in the areas of finance, education, and employment gave women greater social and economic equality.
Redefining Roles: Despite having limited legal rights at the nation’s founding, women found ways to move beyond their narrow sphere. Explore the diverse stories of 11 women who have pushed the limits of what was expected and accepted of them, including: Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye, Harriet Tubman, Annie Oakley, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin, Willa Brown, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Shirley Chisholm, Sandra Day O’Connor, and Ellen Ochoa.

“One Half of the People helps us explore how women and their allies worked to secure more equal access to legal and citizenship rights, as well as employment opportunities,” Museum Historian Dr. Jan Davidson stated. “We are delighted to be able to bring this story of an important part of our country’s history to the community.”

Cape Fear Museum is located at 814 Market Street.