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On Tuesday, August 26, 2025, EVPL will join other libraries and organizations across the country in celebrating Women’s Equality Day. A bill was presented by Congresswoman Bella S. Abzug in 1971 to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment, and it was passed when she presented it again in 1973. Every President since that time has declared August 26 as Women’s Equality Day.
The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920 to give women the right to vote after women fought for decades prior to its passing. While the 19th Amendment gave all women the right to vote, some states denied women of color the right to vote until the Voting Rights Act was signed by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965. Despite these measures, voter suppression laws are still prevalent in our country today.
EVPL honors Women’s Equality Day, and we have provided some suggested reading if you would like to learn more. Make sure to check out the book displays at EVPL locations that honor Women’s Equality Day.
Adult Titles
Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight For The Right To Vote by Tina Cassidy
Examines the complex relationship between suffragist leader Alice Paul and President Woodrow Wilson, revealing the life-risking measures that Paul and her supporters endured to gain voting rights for American women.
The Women’s March: A Novel of the 1913 Women’s Suffrage Procession by Jennifer Chiaverini
Inspired by actual events, this novel offers a fascinating account of a crucial but little-remembered moment in American history that follows three courageous women who bravely risked their lives and liberty in the fight to win the vote.
Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality, 1920-2020 by Elisabeth Griffith
The Nineteenth Amendment was an incomplete victory. A century later, women are still grappling with how to use the vote and their political power to expand civil rights, confront racial violence, improve maternal health, advance educational and employment opportunities, and secure reproductive rights. Formidable chronicles the efforts of white and Black women to advance sometimes competing causes. Black women wanted the rights enjoyed by whites. White women wanted to be equal to white men. In this riveting narrative, Dr. Elisabeth Griffith integrates the fight by white and Black women to achieve equality.
The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight To Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss
An account of the 1920 ratification of the constitutional amendment that granted voting rights to women traces the culmination of seven decades of legal battles and cites the pivotal contributions of famous suffragists and political leaders.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement by Sally Roesch Wagner (editor)
Comprised of historical texts spanning two centuries with commentary on each period by the editor, this book covers the major issues and figures involved in the women’s suffrage movement with a special focus on diversity, incorporating race, class, and gender. The writings of such figures as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony are featured alongside accounts of Native American women and African American suffragists such as Sarah Mapps Douglas and Harriet Purvis.
Teen Titles
Votes for Women!: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling
From Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who founded the suffrage movement at the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, to Sojourner Truth and her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, to Alice Paul, arrested and force-fed in prison, this is the story of the American women’s suffrage movement and the private lives that fueled its leaders’ dedication.
The Suffragist Playbook: Your Guide to Changing the World by Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts
The women’s suffrage movement was decades in the making and came with many harsh setbacks…From moments of inspiration to some of the movement’s darker aspects–including the racism of some suffragist leaders, violence against picketers, and hunger strikes in jail–this clear-eyed view takes in the role of key figures: Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frances Willard, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, and many more. Engagingly narrated by Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts…this unique melding of seminal history and smart tactics is sure to capture the attention of activists-in-the-making today.
Children’s Titles
How Women Won the Vote: Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
A history of the iconic first women’s march in 1913 and the suffragists who led the way to passing the 19th Amendment.
Finish the Fight!: The Brave and Revolutionary Women Who Fought For The Right To Vote by the Staff of The New York Times, including Veronica Chambers
Who was at the forefront of women’s right to vote? We know a few famous names, like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but what about so many others from diverse backgrounds–black, Asian, Latinx, Native American, and more–who helped lead the fight for suffrage? On the hundredth anniversary of the historic win for women’s rights, it’s time to celebrate the names and stories of the women whose stories have yet to be told.
Lifting as We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne
For African American women, the fight for the right to vote was only one battle. An eye-opening book that tells the important, overlooked story of black women as a force in the suffrage movement–when fellow suffragists did not accept them as equal partners in the struggle.
Equality’s Call: The Story of Voting Rights in America by Deborah Diesen
A powerful look at the evolution of voting rights in the United States, from our nation’s founding to the present day.
A Lady Has the Floor: Belva Lockwood Speaks Out For Women’s Rights by Kate Hannigan
Activist Belva Lockwood never stopped asking herself the question: Are women not worth the same as men? She had big dreams and didn’t let anyone stand in her way–not her father, her law school, or even the U.S. Supreme Court. She fought for equality for women in the classroom, in the courtroom, and in politics.
