We Demand: Unfinished Business – The UncommonWealth

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

“A long step” in the Complicated History of Equal Rights for Women in Virginia

One hundred years ago this month, the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in Congress. After women had succeeded in their fight for voting rights…

Mari JulienneDecember 8, 2023

Education & Programming Manuscripts & Special Collections

Unfinished Business: How Young is Too Young to Vote?

The 26th Amendment, the last in a series of amendments which expanded constitutional protection for voting rights, provided that “the right of citizens of the…

Catherine Fitzgerald WyattNovember 9, 2020

Education & Programming

Unfinished Business: Indigenous Voters in Virginia

This blog post is being written on the lands of Virginia’s Indigenous people, Cheroenhaka (Nottoway), Chickahominy, East Chickahominy, Mattaponi, Monacan, Nansemond, Nottoway, Pamunkey, Patawomeck, Upper…

Ashley CraigNovember 4, 2020

Education & Programming

Unfinished Business: Disenfranchisement of People Currently or Formerly Incarcerated in Virginia

CONTENT WARNING: Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and…

Emma ItoOctober 30, 2020

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Unfinished Business: The Fate of the Equal Rights Amendment

Although woman suffrage became part of the Constitution with the passage of the 19th Amendment, thousands of men and women in the United States were…

Claire RadcliffeOctober 28, 2020

Education & Programming

We Demand Complete Realization: The Slow Legal Fight for Enfranchisement

CONTENT WARNING: Materials in the Library of Virginia's collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and…

Jessi BennettSeptember 11, 2020

Archives Education & Programming

“On Account of Race”: Disenfranchisement of Black Voters in Virginia

The history of African American disenfranchisement and exclusion in Virginia is a lengthy one. This blog post is meant to serve as an introduction and…

Jessi BennettSeptember 9, 2020

Education & Programming

Unfinished Business: Barriers to Voting

Even after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1920, many people in the United States continued to be denied the right…

Sonya ColemanSeptember 2, 2020