‘Suffrage in Southern Appalachia’ focus of ‘Women on Wednesdays’ talk

JOHNSON CITY (Aug. 21, 2020) – “Suffrage in Southern Appalachia” is the focus of a free virtual talk by Rebecca Proffitt at East Tennessee State University on Wednesday, Aug. 26, at noon via Zoom.

This talk, held in conjunction with the centennial of Women’s Suffrage, is part of the “Women on Wednesdays” lecture series sponsored by the university’s Women’s Studies Program. The live stream may be viewed at https://etsu.zoom.us/j/91733077013. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentation.

image for Rebecca Proffitt

Rebecca Proffitt

Reece Museum Collections Manager Rebecca Proffitt pulled artifacts from the museum's Permanent Collection to explore the ways Southern Appalachian women played important roles in the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Proffitt, collections manager at ETSU’s Reece Museum, will give attendees an inside look at the creation of the “Suffrage in Southern Appalachia” exhibit that will be on display at the museum from Aug. 24-Jan. 22, 2021.

Using artifacts from the Reece Museum’s Permanent Collection to explore the ways that activists built a movement for cultural change, Proffitt will describe how the women in this region were politically savvy and socially connected. They established social clubs that blended activism with charitable work, leading the region to become a hub of grassroots organization that was integral to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteeing women’s right to vote on Aug. 18, 1920.

Proffitt, a folklorist who earned a master of arts in Appalachian studies from ETSU in 2017, has focused much of her work on documenting local and regional history, with special attention to the relationship between cultural markers and community identity. She integrates various methods from the fields of folklore, anthropology and public history to help the public make both empathetic and intellectual connections to the materials that create our cultural memory. At the Reece Museum, she works to collect and preserve objects that tell the stories of Appalachia through the interpretation of material culture and historic artifacts.

The “Women on Wednesdays” series is designed to raise awareness about the research, scholarship and community engagement conducted by women at ETSU; to provide a venue where women on campus and in the community can discuss and support each other’s work; and to give students an opportunity to meet faculty who could become mentors for their studies.

For more information, call Dr. Phyllis Thompson, director of Women’s Studies, at 423-439-4125.

Share