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“The New South for the New Southerner,” hosted by community historian Dr. Tom Hanchett. Presented by Levine Museum of the New South, co-sponsored by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

New South for the New Southerner: Women Vote!

August 10, 2020

WOMEN VOTE! – That was the headline in August of 1920 as the 19th Amendment was ratified, and states could no longer deny the right to vote “on account of sex.” In commemoration of the centennial of this event, the League of Women Voters will present a program on Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 7 p.m.

The program will be hosted by community historian, Dr. Tom Hanchett, and will be streamed live by the Levine Museum of the New South and by its co-sponsor, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. Visitors to the Library’s Facebook page may view the proceedings and submit comments and questions via Facebook.

The League of Women Voters has been “encouraging informed and active participation in government” since 1920, when it changed its name from the “Equal Suffrage League,” following victory in the struggle for a women’s suffrage amendment. The seven Charlotteans pictured in this image from 1914 were all members of the Equal Suffrage League.

In this election year, the Library is partnering with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) offering programs like this one to encourage everyone to look back at what has been accomplished in the past and to move forward with empowerment to make a difference in one's own community. To learn more about Engage 2020, click here.

Get carded this September at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

August 10, 2020

Get Carded

Are you without a Library card? Or know someone who doesn’t have one? The Charlotte Mecklenburg Library offers millions of resources in books, music, movies, materials, digital programs and virtual programming - all for FREE with a Library card. What are you waiting for?

Even Superheroes know it’s important to have a Library card. September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when libraries remind customers, parents, caregivers and students that signing up for a library card is the first step towards academic achievement and lifelong learning. Wonder Woman is here to remind everyone that libraries are wonderful and you shouldn’t wait to get your Library card - now’s the time.

Signing up for a Library card is easy and doesn’t require any superpowers. CLICK HERE to sign up for a Library Card and download the CMLibrary mobile app on your smartphone or tablet to place holds, access resources and much more.

In a world rapidly moving to an online format, access to digital resources and educational materials is more important than ever before. With limits on in-person gatherings and adjusted work and school schedules, living room sofas, kitchens and bedrooms have transformed into workspaces. But what hasn’t changed is needing information – for education, work, extracurricular interests or just for fun. The Library’s mission is to improve lives and build a stronger community, and we encourage everyone in Mecklenburg County to sign up for a Library card to gain access to books, media and invaluable digital resources. Again, it’s all FREE.

FREE Digital Resources

The Library is a tremendous one-stop shop, not just for books but for digital resources and so much more. You can access virtual tutoring and homework help for children through Tutor.com. You can find the resources to support a new (or existing) business venture with Lynda.com. Maybe you want to perfect an existing skill--or learn a new one--with Universal Class. When you have a Charlotte Mecklenburg Library card, you can access a multitude of online resources available to you for FREE.

Maybe you love watching movies and listening to music? Film and music buffs can benefit from a Library card. With the kanopy, OverDrive, hoopla and Freegal apps that are available for FREE with a Library card, you can stream or download films, documentaries and the newest songs.

ACCESS RESOURCES

Value Like No Other

Do you know how much a Library card can save you? $100? $300? Even up to $1000! Subscription services can be pricey and tend to add up over the course of a calendar year, not to mention how much you might spend on books, magazines and music. There’s no need to pay for subscription services ever again. See how much you can save with the Library by using the Library Value Calculator. Input the number of books, magazines, DVDs, music and resources you’ve purchased or used in a year and you’ll be amazed at much you could save by switching to the Library. The numbers don’t lie; a Library card is a great value!

Virtual Programming from the Library

While our branches are open with limited capacity, the Library is always here to serve the community. Did you know that you can continue to participate in Library programming while staying home? How would you like to participate in a virtual storytime with your family or receive resume help all from the comfort of your couch? Join Charlotte Mecklenburg Library every week for a wide range of virtual programming for children, teens and adults.

See a complete listing of upcoming programming below.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER FOR PROGRAMS CLICK HERE

Sign up Today

Signing up for a Library card is super easy. CLICK HERE to sign up for a Library Card and download the CMLibrary mobile app on your smartphone or tablet to place holds, access resources and much more.

View this easy tutorial on how to sign up for a Library card online.

So, now that you know everything you can do with your Library card, what are you waiting for? Join Charlotte Mecklenburg Library and “get carded” today!

Floats from a Meck Day Parade, Courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

How a suffrage parade float attracted so much attention

August 11, 2020

This month, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library celebrates the centennial of the 19th Amendment. This amendment to the United States Constitution added the declaration that no state could deny a citizen the right to vote "on account of sex.” Many states already allowed limited voting rights for women by 1920, although North Carolina, along with nine other states, still restricted all elections to men only. (See map.) It took this amendment to make women’s suffrage universal throughout the nation.

A suffragist map from late 1919 showing the extent of voting rights for women and the progress of ratification of the 19^th Amendment by state legislatures.

The movement to win the right to vote for women was decades in the making, but it garnered very little public support in North Carolina until 1913 when a state chapter of the Equal Suffrage League opened. A few days prior to the yearly Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence Day parade on May 20 (a day of local patriotism much-celebrated once in Charlotte), local chapter members decided they would participate. They hired a driver with a horse-drawn cart, decorated it, and set out along the parade route.

Suzanne Bynum, Anna Forbes Liddell, Catherine McLaughlin, Jane Stillman, Julia McNinch, Bessie Mae Simmonds, and Mary Belle Palmer stand up for women’s suffrage. Charlotte, NC, May 20, 1914. Courtesy of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

“A success? I should say so!” said the male writer of an article for the Charlotte Observer. “The suffragist cause thrives on publicity, and [the float] was one of the features of a crowded day. Thousands who had ignored the subject discussed it that night.” -Victor L. Stephenson, “Story of that Suffrage Float,” The Charlotte Observer, (November 1, 1914).

Article in the Charlotte News, May 21, 1914

Later that same year, the Charlotte chapter hosted the statewide convention of the Equal Suffrage League in November. The event attracted luminaries from around the state and received special attention from The Charlotte Observer, which published a special edition to cover events at the convention. Attendees planned to lobby hard for women’s suffrage in the state, or, as The Charlotte Observer put it, “lay siege to the next legislature.”

The year 1915 began with high hopes that were quickly dashed. In February, both the State House and Senate of North Carolina declined – by large majorities - to amend the state constitution to allow votes for women. In the next four years, as other states embraced equal suffrage, North Carolina did not join the movement. When the 19^th Amendment was finally adopted by the United States Senate in 1919, both North Carolina Senators voted against it.

The drama then shifted to state legislatures. Thirty-six of the forty-eight states needed to say "yes" for the amendment to be ratified. By August 1920, 35 states had done so. The General Assembly of North Carolina was called into special session to consider it, and local suffragists hoped to claim the honor of putting the amendment over the top for their state. On August 18, however, Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify. The North Carolina House held a vote on the amendment anyway the next day and voted it down in a purely symbolic gesture.

Alas, this expansion of the right to vote did not improve access to the polls for African Americans in North Carolina. State laws that effectively barred African Americans from participating in elections remained in place so that Black women remained as excluded as before ratification. The editor of the Star of Zion, a Black newspaper in Charlotte, pointed to the irony of celebrating a partial expansion of rights that should belong to all. He referred to the 19^th Amendment as the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment,” after the woman who had proposed it in 1875.

“The name of the 19^th Amendment savors of universal freedom. Susan B. Anthony herself was as ardent an abolitionist as she was a suffragist, and her amendment presupposes that all citizens in free America should have the use of the ballot. And if she were living, she would keep up the fight for it.” (Star of Zion, August 26, 1920).

In this election year, the Library is partnering with the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) offering programs like this one to encourage everyone to look back at past accomplishments and to move forward with empowerment to make a difference in one's own community. To learn more about Engage 2020, click here.

This blog was written by Tom Cole of the Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room at Charlotte Mecklenburg Library.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Molloy, Jill. “Timeline of Women’s Suffrage,” NCPedia, published by the North Carolina Government and Heritage Library, accessed July 22, 2020. https://www.ncpedia.org/anchor/timeline-womens-suffrage

Stay connected while staying home with virtual programming from the Library.

Virtual Programming from the Library - Week of 8/17/20

August 12, 2020

Did you know that you can continue to stay connected to the Library while staying home? How would you like to participate in a virtual storytime with your family or receive resume help all from the comfort of your couch? Join Charlotte Mecklenburg Library every week for a wide range of virtual programming for children, teens and adults. See a complete listing of this upcoming programming for the week of 8/17/2020 below. Click the corresponding links for more information and register for programs where applicable.

Learn more about online programming by clicking here

Sunday 8/16

Engage 2020: Community Conversations - Local Voices Matter – 3 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Monday 8/17

Virtual Reading Buddies – 9 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Family Storytime – 9:30 a.m. (Children's programming) Learn more

Online Listen and Move Storytime – 10:30 a.m. (Children's programming) learn more

Virtual Reading Buddies – 10 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 11 a.m. (Children's programming) register

One-on-One Tutoring and Enrichment – 11 a.m. (Children’s programming) register

Remote Learning 101: Library Resources to Enhance Your Child's Learning – 12 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Mindful Mondays – 12 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 1 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 2 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Book a Librarian – Technology – 2 p.m. (Adult programming) register

One-on-One Tutoring and Enrichment - 2:30 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 3 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Traditional Storytelling – 3 p.m. (Children’s programming) learn more

Tuesday 8/18

Virtual Reading Buddies – 9 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Family Storytime – 9:30 a.m. (Children's programming) Learn more

Virtual Reading Buddies – 10 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Cuentos Virtuales en Español - 10:30 a.m. (Children's programming) learn more

Email Basics – 11 a.m. (Adult programming) register

Book a Librarian - Business Research – 11 a.m. (Adult programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 11 a.m. (Children's programming) register

One-on-One Tutoring and Enrichment - 11 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Career Development Intensive Coaching – 12 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Career Development Intensive Coaching – 12:30 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 1 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Nonprofit Services: Intro to Foundation Directory Online – 2 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 2 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Book a Librarian - Technology – 2 p.m. register

Caregiver Class: Active Reading Training for Caregivers of 2-5 Year Olds – 2 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Story Explorers Enrichment – 2 p.m. (Children's programming) learn more

One-on-One Tutoring and Enrichment – 2:30 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 3 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Wednesday 8/19

Virtual Reading Buddies – 9 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Family Storytime – 9:30 a.m. (Children's programming) Learn more

Virtual Reading Buddies – 10 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Online Listen and Move Storytime – 10:30 a.m. (Children's programming) learn more

Virtual Reading Buddies – 11 a.m. (Children's programming) register

One-on-One Tutoring and Enrichment – 11 a.m. (Children's programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 1 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 2 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Book a Librarian - Technology – 2 p.m. register

One-on-One Tutoring and Enrichment – 2:30 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Virtual Reading Buddies – 3 p.m. (Children's programming) register

Teens LIVE on Instagram: DIY Jean Embroidery – 5 p.m. (Teen programming) learn more

Learning Circle: The 1619 Project – 6 p.m. (Adult programming) register

Thursday 8/20