100 years ago today, on August 18, 1920, women gained the right to vote here in America. In 1924, Native Americans were granted citizenship and the right to vote, and in 943, Chinese immigrants/citizens were given the right to vote. The final change that would guarantee all men and women of this country their right to vote wouldn’t come until 1965, which prohibited racial discrimination in voting.
My grandmother was born in 1909. When she was eleven she would not have been allowed to vote, but by the time she graduated with her master’s degree, she could.
The suffragettes fought for over 80 years to get the Nineteenth Amendment. It is hard for me to believe it took until 1920 for just the first women to get the right to vote, but it shouldn’t be. After all, we are still fighting for voting rights in 2020.
I am a writer, ceramic artist, knitter, and stepmom. As a playwright, I had six short plays produced in showcases and festivals in Manhattan, Salt Lake City, and Austin. My full-length play, Locking Doors, was presented by Wordsmith Theatre Company in The New Lab Theatre (University of Utah) in 2005. I co-wrote a teleplay titled “Thank God I’m Atheist” which won the 2015 “No God But Funny” contest founded by the Center for Inquiry. My short nonfiction essay, “It’s Coming Down,” was published by the online literary magazine Halfway Down the Stairs. My essay "The Red Rock Chronicles" was published in Contemporary West magazine. I currently work in pharmaceuticals professionally and write recreationally, but dream of making the transition to write professionally and do pharmaceuticals recreationally. I am a Utah native and live in Salt Lake City with my family and our Goldendoodle. I am working on a collection of humorous non-fiction essays and a second full-length play.
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rachelclewis.com
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