A new plaque at 405 Carlton Street in Brooklyn, New York, that celebrates African American suffragists was unveiled on October 15th.
Congress passed the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments, which granted African Americans U.S. citizenship and affirmed that the right to vote “shall not be denied…on account of race.” Neither of the amendments were enforced. In the early 1900s, four notable women fought to ensure African American women had the right to vote. Sarah J.S. Garnet, Mary E. Eato, Dr. Verina Morton-Jones, and Lydia C. Smith formed and served as officers of the Equal Suffrage League (ESL), where they pushed to have Black citizenship opportunities made real.
The plaque dedication was sponsored by the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT) and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation, brought out state and local politicians, members of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, members of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s local Psi Lambda Omega chapter, and area residents to take part in honoring these early activists. The new plaque reads: “Road to the 19th amendment. Votes For Women. African American women led by Pres. Dr. Verina Morton-Jones used this former YMCA in 1908 as headquarters of the Equal Suffrage League of Brooklyn, William C. Pomeroy Foundation 2022.”
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