The Right to Vote

Ninety years after women first earned the right to vote, Rhode Islanders gathered on the terrace of the Marble House Thursday to reflect and pay tribute to those who fought for the passage of the 19th amendment.

The setting was fitting, of course, because the Marble House was the summer cottage of Alva Vanderbilt Belmont, a noted suffragist who called the mansion her "temple to the arts," and used it as a setting for suffrage rallies in the early years of the 20^th century. The Preservation Society of Newport County hosted the event, in partnership with the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island, YWCA Northern Rhode Island, Women's Fund of Rhode Island, the Newport Restoration Foundation and the Newport Historical Society.

Sen. Teresa Paiva-Weed, Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts and a host of other notable Rhode Island women were in attendance. Guest speakers included Rhode Island State Senator June Gibbs; Lt. Colonel Jayme M. Sutton, Naval War College Military Professor of National Strategy Decision Making; Amber Rose Johnson, the 2010 Poetry Out Loud National Champion from Classical High School in Providence; and the state's Poet Laureate, Lisa Starr.

Watch the attached video to hear an excerpt from all of their speeches.