2020 Centennial Celebration For The 19th Amendment Kicks Off At The Rose Parade®

WASHINGTON, Jan. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission (WSCC) has partnered with Pasadena Celebrates 2020, an initiative of the National Women's History Alliance (NWHA), to bring the suffrage story to the big stage at the New Year's Day Rose Parade® Presented by Honda. The float will lead this celebration as participants ride and follow behind a suffrage-themed float in the 131^st Rose Parade®.

The Pasadena Celebrates 2020 "Years of Hope, Years of Courage" float's inclusion in the parade marks the beginning of nationwide celebrations to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment, which secured women's constitutional right to vote. The float's theme ties into the overarching theme of the annual Rose Parade®, "The Power of Hope."

"Our presence in the parade is a creative and dynamic way to celebrate the beginning of the 2020 Centennial, and the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission is honored to be involved," said Anna Laymon, WSCC Executive Director. "The suffrage movement united people from across the country to fight for women's right to vote. We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone in our democracy with America as we kick off our 2020 celebration in the Rose Parade®.

"More than 37 million people tune into the Rose Parade® each year. This is an excellent opportunity to reach millions with the story of the brave and brilliant suffragists, and to create anticipation for commemorations throughout 2020," she said.

"This fabulous float, along with the nationwide events and activities planned for 2020, are all about sharing the history and untold stories of the women's suffrage movement," said Jennifer Siebel Newsom, First Partner of California and one of 14 commissioners of the WSCC.

"I'm proud that my home state of California kicked off the centennial year with the "Years of Hope, Years of Courage" float where participants united to amplify the history of the women's suffrage movement in the annual Rose Parade®."

"What a unique opportunity to speak out with this message to the world," said Nan Johnson, who led the Pasadena Celebrates 2020 effort to create the "Years of Hope, Years of Courage" float. "Our volunteers and sponsors worked so hard to pay tribute to the suffragists and we're thrilled that the Rose Parade honored that work with Most Outstanding Presentation of the Rose Parade® Theme Award."

Five descendants of suffrage leaders will join NWHA members and people from across the country to participate in the parade. Those riding the float include Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells; Coline Jenkins, great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Cady Stanton; Marci Magnatta, a 5th generation distant relative of Susan B. Anthony; Ernestine (Tina) Martin Wyatt, great-great-great-grandniece of Harriet Ross Tubman; and Kenneth B. Morris Jr., great-great-great-grandson of Frederick Douglass.

Viewers can expect to see a massive float, followed by 98 women and two men representing the thirty-six states that ratified the 19th Amendment. Participants will be dressed in white and wearing purple and gold replica sashes provided by the WSCC, to pay tribute to suffragists and their fight for women's rights.

The celebration will continue through August 26, 2020, the date the amendment was signed, with activities planned across the country. Visit womensvote100.org to learn more about the suffrage movement, the WSCC, and upcoming Centennial events.

About the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission
Congress passed legislation to create the Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission (S.847) in April 2017. The WSCC was created to ensure a suitable observance of the centennial of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States providing for women's suffrage. The original bill, sponsored by Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, garnered bi-partisan support, with each female member of the U.S. Senate acting as a co-sponsor. The legislation details that the Commission will meet at least once every six months until it terminates on April 15, 2021. Congress appropriated $4 million for the Commission to perform its duties.

About the National Women's History Alliance
The National Women's History Alliance, formerly the National Women's History Project, is a leader in promoting Women's History and is committed to the goals of education, empowerment, equality, and inclusion. The NWHA is the catalyst, the content provider, and the behind-the-scenes director of a myriad of activities promoting women as leaders and influential forces in our society. For over 30 years, the NWHA, founded in Santa Rosa, California, has established a nationwide presence as the number one resource for information and material about the unfolding roles of women in American history. The NWHA leads both local and national efforts, and consults, publishes, distributes, inspires, advises, and networks with a wide variety of institutions and activists in the field. #CelebrateHER100.

Contact for Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission:
Lynnette Johnson Williams – [email protected]

Contact for NWHA's Pasadena Celebrates 2020:
Marta Escanuelas – [email protected]

SOURCE Pasadena Celebrates 2020