Rightfully Hers Exhibit

Lakeland, FL – On September 24, the Lakeland Chamber of Commerce will host a new popup exhibit from the National Archives at the Chamber’s annual ATHENA Awards. Prior to the event, the popup exhibit can be viewed in the Chamber lobby beginning July 27, 2020, until the end of the year. 

Rightfully Hers, commemorates the 100^th anniversary of the ratification of the19^th Amendment. Rightfully Hers contains simple messages exploring the history of the ratification of the 19^th amendment, women’s voting rights before and after the 19^th, and its impact today. Despite decades of marches, petitions, and public debate to enshrine a woman’s right to vote in the constitution, the 19^th Amendment—while an enormous milestone—did not grant voting rights for all. The challenges of its passage reverberate to the ongoing fight for gender equity today. Rightfully Hers co-curator Jennifer N. Johnson states: “The ratification of the 19^th Amendment was a landmark moment in American history that dramatically changed the electorate, and although it enshrined in the U.S. Constitution fuller citizenship for women many remained unable to vote.”

Rightfully Hers is organized by the National Archives and Records Administration. In celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the 19^th Amendment, the National Archives has launched a nationwide initiative and major exhibition that explores the generations-long fight for universal woman suffrage. The exhibition is presented in part by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Unilever, Pivotal Ventures, Carl M. Freeman Foundation in honor of Virginia Allen Freeman, AARP, and Denise Gwyn Ferguson.

The ATHENA Awards were founded in Lansing, Michigan in 1982. Since then, more than 7,000 top leaders in more than 500 communities have received awards in nine different countries. The awards actively advocate and celebrate the ATHENA mission of supporting, developing, and honoring women leaders, inspiring women to achieve their full potential creating balance in leadership worldwide. The ATHENA Awards honors women who strive toward the highest levels of personal and professional accomplishment, who excel in their chosen field, devote time and energy to their community in a meaningful way, and forge paths of leadership for other women to follow.

To purchase tickets to the ATHENA Awards or to sponsor click here https://bit.ly/3jJkYBc or visit the Lakeland Chamber website’s event page at https://www.lakelandchamber.com/