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Card Advertising a Lila Meade Valentine Suffrage Lecture, 1914

CONTENT WARNING

Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation. 

Context

Richmond native Lila Meade Valentine (1865-1921) devoted much of her life to advocating reforms in public education and health care. She also supported voting rights for women and she co-founded the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia in 1909. Serving as its first (and only) president, Lila Valentine helped establish local leagues across the state and built a strong organization of women who lobbied legislators, wrote letters to the editor, passed out suffrage literature on street corners and at county fairs, and made public speeches at courthouses, churches, schools, theaters, and from the back of open-top automobiles as part of their efforts to educate the public about the importance of women's voting rights. Lila Valentine made hundreds of speeches herself, including this one advertised in Newport News.  

The Equal Suffrage League did not convince the General Assembly to ratify the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, but they did succeed in building support for woman suffrage in Virginia. After Tennessee ratified the amendment in August 1920 and women achieved the right to vote, the Equal Suffrage League dissolved and reorganized as the Virginia League of Women Voters to help women and men become informed voters.

Citation: Card Advertising a Lila Meade Valentine Suffrage Lecture in Norfolk, 21 April 1914, Equal Suffrage League of Virginia Records, 1909–1938, Accession 22002, Organization Records, Library of Virginia.

Related Document Bank entries:
Women Do Want the Vote, Broadside, 1916
Anti-Suffrage Arguments, Broadside, circa 1912
Virginia Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage, Broadside, ca. 1910s

Learn more about Lila Meade Valentine in her Dictionary of Virginia Biography entry.

Learn more about the campaign for women's voting rights in our online resource, We Demand: Women's Suffrage in Virginia.

Standards

Social Studies; VS.9, VUS.1, VUS.8
Art: 4.1, 5.1

Suggested Questions

Preview Activity

Scan It: Look at the card; what immediately jumps out to you? Why do you think the creator of the card wanted those phrases and words to stand out?

Post Activities

Artistic Expression: Design a more graphic-based card for this event that you think might be more likely to encourage participation. Be sure to use era-appropriate words and symbolism.

Analyze: Notice how Lila Meade Valentine’s name is printed on the card. Why do you think her married name, Mrs. B.B. Valentine, was used on the card? What might this have signaled to the public. Keep in mind the time period and the traditional roles of women.

Current Connection: What are some examples of women today who have struggled with the notion of balancing the appearance of playing a traditional role while being an agent for change?