Sunday, I arrived back in Tampa from a weekend packed full of Key West archiving, exploring, and connecting! Darlene, the president of Key West NOW, welcomed me, showed me around, helped arrange my lodging, and made sure my weekend was a success. I’m so grateful for all of her support and hospitality!

Thursday, I flew into Key West, had dinner with Darlene, and visited Stacey, who generously gave me several free passes to experience different activities around the island. After settling into the apartment where I was staying, I headed out for the Ghosts and Gravestones Trolley Tour. The tour took me all over the island, where I got to see many interesting sites and learn about Key West’s history. It was really well done and was a great way to start my visit.

Friday morning, I hosted our first recording session at the Key West Library. I recorded oral histories with Darlene, Liz, and Dave, who have all been active members of the chapter for more than 10 years. Each of them shared incredible insight into Key West NOW, the chapter’s history, and how its work has evolved over the years.

Afterward, Darlene and I met with the new Key West Mayor, Sam Kaufman, to connect and talk about how we can work together to uplift women and other marginalized people in Key West. He was very welcoming and had lots of ideas and plans for the community. I appreciate that he took the time to meet with us and was excited to hear about the work Key West NOW is doing.

 

Later that day, I met with Sheri to record her oral history. Her testimony focused on her best friend, Coney Gilbert, the former president of Key West NOW. Hearing Sheri talk about Coney and their friendship offered a really special glimpse into the people and relationships that have shaped the chapter over the years. These are exactly the kinds of stories we want to preserve through the Florida NOW Oral History Archive.

Friday night, I walked to the bookstore to pick up The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, one of our upcoming Anti-Racist Learning Book Club selections. From there, I walked to Amigos Tortilla Bar, picked up dinner to go, and took it to the beach. I spent the evening reading and watching the sunset.

Saturday morning, I went to La Creperie French Cafe for breakfast and explored the surrounding streets. The area was full of people and music, and I sat for a while at two different places, reading and listening to live music.

Later that afternoon, I went to the Key West NOW Women’s Forum and met with members of the chapter. There were three fabulous speakers, a Q&A, and a light lunch, and the room was packed. It was wonderful to see so many people come together and to spend more time with the members of Key West NOW.

After the forum, I rode the Conch Train and explored more of the town before ending my evening at Sunset Pier. I was so excited to discover that they offer vegan key lime pie, and it was absolutely delicious! The live music and sunset made for a relaxing end to the day. I explored a little more afterward, stopping by a place packed with people salsa dancing to music, before heading back for the night.

Sunday morning, I went snorkeling! I saw interesting coral and fish, and even managed to get seaweed stuck in my hair. Afterward, I packed up, said goodbye to Darlene, and flew back to Tampa.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to travel around Florida and document the history of our chapters. It has been extremely meaningful to learn more about the place, people, and experiences that have shaped Key West NOW, and I’m honored to help preserve these stories for future generations of feminists.

Thank you to Darlene, Sheri, Liz, Dave, Stacey, and everyone at Key West NOW for making this such a memorable visit. I can’t wait to go back and visit Key West NOW again!

I am currently working on downloading and transcribing those recordings, so they will be available in the near future. Reach out to me directly to schedule a chapter visit at kaitlyncomms@gmail.com.

Congratulations to the Florida NOW PAC-endorsed candidates who won their primaries, and to those moving on to the general election this November! We’re proud to support candidates who are fighting for intersectional feminist values and a more progressive Florida.

August 26, 1920, is the day the 19th Amendment was certified, giving some women the legal right to vote. This was a hard-fought milestone that changed history, but it didn’t bring voting equality for all people.

Many people were still kept from voting equality for decades after 1920:

• Black people in the South faced Jim Crow laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, gerrymandering, and violent intimidation designed to suppress Black political power. Many of these tactics are still used and have lasting effects on voter access and political representation in BIPOC communities today.
• Indigenous people were not recognized as U.S. citizens until 1924, and even after citizenship, many states found ways to block Native voting for decades.
• Most Asian American people were denied citizenship until 1952, barred from naturalization by exclusionary immigration laws.
• Latine communities were blocked by poll taxes, English-only literacy tests, and citizenship restrictions. Puerto Ricans, though granted U.S. citizenship in 1917, still live under colonial rule and are subjected to U.S. federal law without voting rights or representation.
• Trans and intersex people are systemically erased, and continue to face barriers to voting through ID laws and gender policing.

That history matters. Despite facing racism, marginalization, and exclusion, including within the suffrage movement itself, BIPOC organizers played a central role in progressing voting rights and political participation, laying the groundwork for political movements globally.

“Women’s Equality Day” recognizes a massive milestone worth honoring. However, we can’t ignore that it mainly benefited privileged white women and the exclusionary white feminism that continues to be weaponized today.

Whitestream feminism tokenizes, erases, and sidelines the struggles, demands, and leadership of Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latina, and Arab women, femmes, trans women, and gender-expansive people.

Many white women’s suffrage leaders, including Susan B. Anthony, were motivated in part by frustration that some Black men could vote before white women, and they often used this racist rhetoric to advance their own enfranchisement.

Revolutionary women, femmes, trans women, and gender-expansive people of color have always been at the heart of shaping every fundamental movement for liberation, even when their voices were trampled and pushed aside. We honor and remember their contributions and resistance today and every day.

 

Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, a suffragist and community organizer, led campaigns for voting rights and built political power in Chinese American communities despite exclusionary naturalization laws.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a Black journalist, suffragist, and anti-lynching activist, exposed systemic racism in society and the suffrage movement. She co-founded the National Association of Colored Women and Chicago’s Alpha Suffrage Club, mobilizing Black women to fight for voting rights and political power.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adelina “Nina” Otero-Warren was a political leader, educator, and suffragist who mobilized Spanish-speaking communities in New Mexico. She served as Superintendent of Instruction in Santa Fe, reformed bilingual education, and ran for Congress in 1922, becoming the first Latina candidate in the New Mexico.

 

 

 

 

 

Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin, a member of the Métis and Chippewa communities, used her legal training to fight for Native rights and political participation. She worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, helping Native communities claim their citizenship and voting rights despite systemic exclusion.

 

 

 

 

 

Frances Thompson, a Black trans woman, survived slavery and lived openly as a woman in post-Civil War Memphis. She testified before Congress in 1866 about the violence Black women faced during the Memphis Riots, advocating for legal protections and dignity, and challenging racial and gender oppression.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luisa Capetillo, a Puerto Rican labor leader and anarchist, connected women’s rights to labor activism and anti-colonial struggles, advocating for social, political, and economic justice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zitkála-Šá, a Yankton Dakota writer, musician, and activist, fought for Native sovereignty and political participation. She challenged U.S. policies that denied Indigenous people citizenship and voting rights, using her writing and organizing to amplify Native voices and preserve cultural identity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a poet, lecturer, and abolitionist who organized women’s clubs and spoke widely for both racial and gender justice, advocating for Black women’s political participation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sojourner Truth, a Black abolitionist and women’s rights activist, inspired generations with her 1851 “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, challenging both slavery and gender inequality and asserting Black women’s place in politics long before the 19th Amendment.