Via: Dallas Innovates
By: Natalie Lee
On June 28, 1919, Texas ratified the 19th Amendment, which marked a monumental step in the fight for women’s suffrage. Last month, on the 100th anniversary of that milestone, Texas Women’s Foundation (TWF) launched “Count Her In,” a social media campaign to honor 100 people, organizations, and milestones that have continued to advance the cause.
TWF’s campaign will run for 62 weeks and conclude on August 26, 2020, which is Women’s Equality Day. Through “Count Her In,” the stories of Texan women and men who led the movement—and who continue to drive progress today—will be highlighted.
Featured trailblazers in the campaign include: Christia V. Daniels Adair, an activist who worked for the Houston NAACP during the Smith v. Allwright case, which ended whites-only primary elections in the South; Carlos Martinez, a manager at the Advocacy Alliance Center of Texas who works on improving voter turnout in Southeast Texas; and more.
The hope is that, along with learning about the history of women’s suffrage, more people—particularly women—will register and exercise their right to vote. Over the course of the campaign, “Count Her In” seeks to increase the number of Texan women registered to vote by 3 percent and will include a registration link on each of its posts.
“With our goal to transform Texas for women and girls, Texas Women’s Foundation believes that can only take place when women are full participants, and a critical way to achieve that is by motivating more women to exercise their right to vote,” Rosyln Dawson Thompson, TWF’s president and CEO, said in a statement. “This project can be a catalyst for women across the state to understand their rights and use them.”