OPINION: The fight for women's rights marches on

One hundred and three years ago this month, Febb Burn changed the course of American history.

Febb wasn’t a politician, an athlete or an activist. She never marched on Washington. Febb’s story isn’t taught in schools and there are no statues to honor her.

Febb simply used her voice, and today women have the right to vote.

On a sweltering August day in 1920, made worse by heated arguments erupting in the State Capitol, the Tennessee House of Representatives met in session. Thirty-seven states had already ratified the 19th Amendment, giving women the vote. If Tennessee followed, it would become the law of the land. If not, suffragists already stretched beyond unimaginable limits, would have to fight on.

In their struggles for the vote, women activists were beaten, imprisoned, force-fed through tubes that were shoved violently down their throats, and publicly humiliated.

The stakes were high.

The Tennessee Senate had already approved the 19th Amendment, but the less progressive House of Representatives was at a stalemate. Two rounds of voting had both ended with a tie: 48-48.

Many of the men wore roses on their lapels, signifying the choice they planned to make. A yellow rose meant a promise to ratify. A red rose represented a vote against equality.

Of the 96 lawmakers who had gathered, half wore red. The suffragist’s only hope was for an opponent of women’s rights to change his mind.

With the all male room of lawmakers deadlocked, women’s rights seemed doomed.

Then, a 24-year-old lawmaker named Harry T. Burn got a letter from his mother. With a red flower pinned on his lapel, he read the note from Febb Burn.

Between updates on the farm and the family, Febb slipped in three references to the vote.

“Hurrah and vote for suffrage,” she told her son, “and don’t keep them in doubt.”

That was the moment when Harry Burn realized what he must do.

As the vote was called, Harry voted “Aye,” As if to leave no doubt, Harry pulled off his red rose. Women’s Constitutional right to vote was thus enshrined.

That vote was not the end of the fight for women’s rights, rather it marked a beginning.

Today, Idaho’s extremist politicians have hobbled women’s health care, criminalized health-related speech, declined federal funding for affordable child care, scorned parental leave policies, and more. Just last year, our suffragist sculpture in McEuen Park was defaced with paint.

The fight for women’s rights in Idaho marches on.

Tomorrow (Thursday, Aug. 17), Idaho women are speaking up. At 6 p.m. at the American Legion in Post Falls, The Idaho Women’s Symposium will host speakers on the topic of women’s rights. Representatives from the Pro-Voice Project and the National Organization of Women will join Idaho Congressional Candidate Kaylee Peterson for an evening of conversation and education.

Although the event is free, registration is required at the following link: bit.ly/IdahoWomensSymposium

Everyone’s activism looks different. Yours might be attending a symposium. Or, like Febb Burn, you might defend women’s rights with a simple note. Whatever you do, it is time to do something. Idaho women deserve better than this.

By defending women’s rights, we can all do our part to build a More Perfect Union.

• • •

Evan Koch is chairman of the Kootenai County Democrats.