The League of Women Voters of the San Antonio Area, together with the Can We Talk? organization, hosted a 100th anniversary celebration of the passage of the 19th Amendment that secured the right to vote for women. Aptly titled Hard Won, Not Done, the event acknowledged the incredible hard work, courage, and perseverance of women who demanded the right to vote and looked ahead to all that remains to be done.
Victoria DeFrancesco Soto, Erika Prosper Nirenberg, and Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson headlined the event. Each of these women brought a unique perspective to the celebration.
With her teaching focused in the areas of elections, immigration, and women and politics, Dr. DeFrancesco Soto, Assistant Dean for Civic Engagement at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, in Austin, Texas, provided insight into the challenges to women's equality that lay before us now.
Ms. Nirenberg is co-chair of the League’s Empowering Voters Project and First Lady of San Antonio. Recognizing that more Latinas should be elected to public office, she co-founded the Latina Leadership Institute. The Institute’s mission is to increase the number and influence of Hispanic women in elected and appointed positions in the United States. Ms. Nirenberg is also Senior Director of Customer Insights at HEB.
Bringing a more lyrical perspective to the evening’s celebration was Ms. Sanderson, San Antonio’s Poet Laureate. Showcasing her many talents as a singer, writer, and an activist, she performed a special song, "Hard Won," she created for the occasion.