By Ron Park
McKenzie women and some male community leaders joined together on Friday to celebrate the society-changing efforts of the Women’s Suffrage Movement and the outstanding contributions of women to the community and the country throughout our nation’s history.
The celebration began with a luncheon at First United Methodist Church.
U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn spoke during the luncheon and presented a signed proclamation congratulating the city on its sesquicentennial celebration.
“McKenzie has come a long way since her first settlers followed the Natchez Trace to the tall grasses and fertile soil of western Tennessee’s ‘Barren Lands,’” states the proclamation. “Today the roads are paved, and cattle no longer roam the city square, but McKenzie’s residents still live and work with the same inimitable volunteer spirit as those who fought for their homes and livelihoods through two great fires, a yellow fever epidemic, and the Great Depression.”
After the luncheon, women marched from the church to McKenzie City Hall, carrying banners and signs much like women did back during the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
That movement began in the mid-1800s and gathered momentum until the ratification of the 19th Constitutional Amendment in 1920, granting women the right to vote in all local, state, and national elections.
At city hall, McKenzie Mayor Jill Holland asked the women what they wanted.
“We want the right to vote!” they shouted.
Holland declared that right granted and then read aloud a proclamation passed by the city council.
Reading from the proclamation, Holland encouraged “our entire community to recognize and … continue to support the advancement of women throughout our city. I urge all women to always remember the work and sacrifice of the suffragettes who paved the way and never take this cherished right for granted …”
