Come, All Ye Women, Come!

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the 1913 suffrage parade in Washington, D.C. It provides a history of its conception and the main players in its organization. As they organized the parade, the white planners had very distinct ideas about which women should be included, calculating whether the presence of nonwhite or foreign women would help or hurt their cause. Inclusion turned on the question of symbolism and the message that would resonate with white audiences. They made a place for Native women and Chinese women, but many of them balked at black women’s participation.