The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1920, granting women the right to vote. And this centennial is being celebrated at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County’s Main Branch via the exhibit, Genius of Liberty: The Long Struggle for Women’s Equality.
The show, which takes its name from an 1850s feminist publication by Cincinnati advocate Elizabeth Aldrich, showcases facts and ephemera ranging from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 to the adoption of the 19th Amendment.
“Few copies of (Genius of Liberty) have survived to the present day but you can see some issues in the exhibit,” says Katherine Durack, an independent scholar and former Miami University faculty member, in a release.
Durack, who also hosts the podcast Genius of Liberty, curated the exhibit with reference librarians Christopher Smith and Diane Mallstrom.
In addition to feminist facts and figures, there are also fun displays about local historical suffragettes like Trixie Friganza, who raised money and advocated for the cause and “inspired the song ‘Take Me Out to the Ballgame,’” as well as Laura Carter Pruden, “mother of the Magic 8 Ball inventor” and member of Cincinnati’s Harriet Taylor Upton Club.
Through April 26. Free admission. Main Library, 800 Vine St., Downtown, cincinnatilibrary.org.
