Commentary

COMMENTARY: Women Making History

THE AFRO — For the first 144 years of our nation’s existence, the words, “all men are created equal” did not include the women of our country. Except in a few of the newer states west of the Mississippi River, women were denied the right to vote.

It is worth reflecting upon this harsh truth. For more than three-fifths of our nation’s existence, democracy did not exist for most of the women of our country.

Published

7 years ago

June 27, 2019

Congressman Elijah Cummings

By Congressman Elijah Cummings

As a people, we quite properly celebrate our past, the anniversaries of those moments in our history when Americans of conscience moved us closer to fulfilling our national ideals. In May and June of this year, our nation marks the Centennial of one of our most important and historic triumphs.

Expiating America’s Other Original Sin

For the first 144 years of our nation’s existence, the words, “all men are created equal” did not include the women of our country. Except in a few of the newer states west of the Mississippi River, women were denied the right to vote.

It is worth reflecting upon this harsh truth. For more than three-fifths of our nation’s existence, democracy did not exist for most of the women of our country.

Then, in 1919, after more than seven decades of struggle, the men then serving in our Congress finally voted to propose to the states for their ratification of the 19th Amendment to our Constitution guaranteeing women’s suffrage.

Recalling the struggle to achieve what UCLA Professor Ellen Carol DuBois has termed “the single greatest act of enfranchisement in American history” would be important at any time. It is especially relevant to our own time, however, when the voting rights of millions of Americans are under attack.

American men in 1919 and 1920 may have voted for women’s suffrage, but they did not “give” women the vote. Women (and men) fought for this most fundamental of our democratic rights, overcame difficult political obstacles, and won it.

Lessons For Our Time

As Professor DuBois reminded us in her recent Washington Post article, despite repeated setbacks, the Suffragists persisted — and, ultimately, their vision and determination prevailed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/03/08/what-activists-today-can-learn-womens-suffrage-movement/?utm_term=.59e9f39f0f21.

Professor DuBois also articulates an even more compelling insight for our own time: the essential, but difficult, process of building and maintaining our progressive coalition in a national politics still dominated by issues of race.

As the University of Maryland’s Professor Sharon Harley elaborates in her excellent article for the U.S. Park Service, African American Women and the Nineteenth Amendment, the relationships among Caucasian and African American Suffragists were complex and often strained.

[https://www.nps.gov/articles/african-american-women-and-the-nineteenth-amendment.htm].

Prior to the Civil War, the abolition and women’s rights movements were intertwined and mutually supportive. Free abolitionist Black women like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Maria W. Stewart, Henrietta Purvis, Harriet Forten Purvis, Sarah Remond, Mary Ann Shadd Cary and others were also prominent in the struggle for women’s rights.

As Professor Harley quite accurately informs us, however, after the Civil War, the movement for women’s suffrage became entwined with the national debates about the rights of former slaves and the meaning of citizenship.

With the proposal of the Fifteenth Amendment, which would enfranchise Black men but not women, these interracial, progressive coalitions began to seriously fragment.

Suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony deserve our nation’s respect for devoting their adult lives to extending the franchise.

A less comfortable historical truth, as Professor Harley and others have reminded us, is that Ms. Stanton, Ms. Anthony and other Caucasian Suffragists all too often threw their Black sisters and brothers under the political bus in their efforts to gain political support for women’s suffrage in the South.

Moreover, as the national debate about women’s suffrage came to a head, the impact of the “women’s vote” on Black political power became an important point of contention on both sides of the struggle for women’s suffrage.

This is why the vision, courage, fortitude and determination of Black Suffragists like Ms. Ida B. Wells, Ms. Mary Church Terrell, Ms. Augusta T. Chissell of Maryland, and so many others deserve our acknowledgement and commendation today as we celebrate one of the most transformative democratic victories of our past.

Often disparaged and discounted, these strong Black women of conscience continued to fight against the twin evils of legally enshrined racism and sexism. Largely through their efforts, the national political coalition advancing universal citizenship survived, and a more inclusive democracy prevailed.

The Struggle for Full Equality Continues

Even as we celebrate the Centennial of the 19th Amendment during the coming year, the work to perfect our Democracy continues. Like the Suffragists of our past, the women of our time are demanding equality, justice and opportunity for everyone, not just for themselves.

As the Chair of the National Democratic Party’s Platform Drafting Committee in 2016, I can attest that we Democrats are clear about where our progressive coalition must stand. Here, from our Platform, is our pledge to the American People, women and men alike:

“We are committed to ensuring full equality for women. Democrats will fight to end gender discrimination in the areas of education, employment, health care, or any other sphere. We will combat biases across economic, political, and social life that hold women back and limit their opportunities and also tackle specific challenges facing women of color. After 240 years, we will finally enshrine the rights of women in the Constitution by passing the Equal Rights Amendment. And we will urge U.S. ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.”

Our Democratic Party, not always a strong supporter of women’s equality in the 19th and early 20th Centuries, has become a committed advocate for gender equality today.

This is what the advocacy of a strong, united, progressive coalition can achieve.

I believe that the Suffragists of America’s past, Black and White alike, would approve.

Congressman Elijah Cummings represents Maryland’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives.

The opinions on this page are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the AFRO.
Send letters to The Afro-American • 1531 S. Edgewood St. Baltimore, MD 21227 or fax to 1-877-570-9297 or e-mail to editor@afro.com.

This article originally appeared in The Afro.

Congressman Elijah Cummings

Posts by Congressman Elijah Cummings

Up Next

First Democratic Debate of the 2020 Race Features Almost No Questions on the Black Agenda

Don't Miss

Mental illness, homelessness major issue in South Los Angeles

Congressman Elijah Cummings

Click to comment

Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

1 day ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

bpusa-syndication

Posts by bpusa-syndication

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of August 12 – 18, 2026

Published

1 day ago

August 15, 2026

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Commentary

COMMENTARY: Why Local School Tax Measure G1 Will Not Be on the November Ballot

POST NEWS GROUP — Measure G1 is the local tax measure that supports middle school teacher retention and the expansion of arts, music, and world language programs at both OUSD middle schools and charter middle schools. The current measure expires in 2029.

Published

1 day ago

August 15, 2026

bpusa-syndication

By Jennifer Brouhard, Oakland School Board President

There has been considerable speculation recently about why Measure G1 will not appear on the November ballot and what that means for the Oakland Unified School District’s current budget.

I want to provide some clarity about what happened and, importantly, what did not happen.

Measure G1 is the local tax measure that supports middle school teacher retention and the expansion of arts, music, and world language programs at both OUSD middle schools and charter middle schools. The current measure expires in 2029.

Because these funds are important to our schools and to the continuity of these programs, the district initially intended to place a renewal initiative on the November ballot to provide greater early certainty about funding beyond the expiration of the current measure.

As part of that process, the Board scheduled a special meeting for the required public hearing on the ballot initiative. There has been some suggestion that this meeting was noticed only one day in advance. That is not accurate.

Public hearings of this nature are subject to specific notice requirements, and the meeting must be noticed at least two weeks before the hearing. In practice, the notice may appear even earlier depending on publication schedules. The notice for the Measure G1 public hearing was published in the Tribune on 7/24/2026 and 7/31/2026.

So, why wasn’t the Measure G1 paperwork ultimately filed?

After the Board approved placing the measure on the ballot, the next step required the Alameda County Superintendent of Schools to sign the necessary paperwork before it could be submitted to the Oakland City Clerk.

During that process, Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro raised concerns about potential litigation stemming from another court case unrelated to OUSD and about whether proceeding with the measure could expose the district or County to legal challenges. Superintendent Castro’s action is unprecedented and concerning.

It is important to distinguish between the Board’s decision to pursue Measure G1 and the subsequent procedural and legal issues that arose. The Board did approve moving forward with the measure. The measure did not fail because the Board chose not to support it, nor was the public hearing improperly noticed.

The decision not to proceed with the November ballot was made in light of the County’s concerns about potential litigation and the County’s required approval process.

We also need to be clear about what this does, and does not, mean for OUSD’s current budget. The existing Measure G1 funds remain available through the expiration of the current measure in 2029. The immediate issue is the longer-term continuity of funding beyond that date, not the elimination of these resources from the current year’s budget.

Our responsibility as a Board is to protect the educational programs and services our students depend on while ensuring that our decisions comply with the law and protect the district from unnecessary legal and financial risk.

We will continue working to understand the County’s concerns, explore our options, and advocate for the resources our students deserve. Our middle school students, teachers, and school communities deserve stability, and continued investment in arts, music, world languages, and teacher retention—and that work remains a priority for Oakland Unified.

Jennifer Brouhard is a retired OUSD educator and is the current OUSD School Board President representing District 2.