On March 3, 1913, protesters parted for the woman in white: dressed in a flowing cape and sitting astride a white horse, the activist Inez Milholland was hard to miss.
Tanggal 3 Maret 1913, para pengunjuk rasa membuka jalan bagi wanita berbaju putih: mengenakan jubah menjuntai dan menaiki kuda putih, aktivis Inez Milholland sulit dilewatkan.
She was riding at the helm of the Women’s Suffrage Parade- the first mass protest for a woman’s right to vote on a national scale. After months of strategic planning and controversy, thousands of women gathered in Washington D.C. Here, they called for a constitutional amendment granting them the right to vote.
Dia memimpin Parade Hak Pilih Wanita- demonstrasi besar-besaran pertama agar wanita bisa memilih di skala nasional. Setelah perencanaan strategis dan perdebatan berbulan-bulan, ribuan wanita berkumpul di Washington D.C. Mereka menuntut amendemen konstitusional memberikan mereka hak pilih.
By 1913, women’s rights activists had been campaigning for decades. As a disenfranchised group, women had no voice in the laws that affected their– or anyone else’s– lives. However, they were struggling to secure broader support for political equality. They’d achieved no major victories since 1896, when Utah and Idaho enfranchised women. That brought the total number of states which recognized a women’s right to vote to four.
Hingga 1913, aktivis wanita telah berkampanye selama puluhan tahun. Sebagai kelompok tanpa hak pilih, wanita tak punya suara dalam hukum yang memengaruhi hidupnya atau orang lain. Namun, mereka berjuang mendapat dukungan luas untuk kesetaraan politik. Mereka tak pernah mencetak kemenangan besar sejak 1896, saat Utah dan Idaho mencabut hak pilih wanita. Dengan demikian, jumlah negara bagian yang mengakui hak pilih wanita tinggal empat.
A new, media-savvy spirit arrived in the form of Alice Paul. She was inspired by the British suffragettes, who went on hunger strikes and endured imprisonment in the early 1900s. Rather than conduct costly campaigns on a state-by-state basis, Paul sought the long-lasting impact of a constitutional amendment, which would protect women’s voting rights nationwide.
Datanglah sosok baru yang memahami media, bernama Alice Paul. Ia terinspirasi pejuang hak pilih wanita Inggris, yang melakukan aksi mogok makan dan dipenjara pada awal 1900-an. Daripada mengadakan kampanye mahal di tiap negara bagian, Paul membidik dampak jangka panjang dari amendemen konstitusional, yang akan melindungi hak pilih wanita di seluruh negeri.
As a member of the National American Women Suffrage Association, Paul proposed a massive pageant to whip up support and rejuvenate the movement. Washington authorities initially rejected her plan- and then tried to relegate the march to side streets. But Paul got those decisions overturned and confirmed a parade for the day before the presidential inauguration of Woodrow Wilson. This would maximize media coverage and grab the attention of the crowds who would be in town.
Sebagai anggota Asosiasi Hak Pilh Wanita Amerika, Paul mengusulkan pawai untuk menggalang dukungan dan membarui gerakan. Pihak berwajib Washington menolak idenya- dan mencoba memindahkan pawai ke jalan-jalan kecil. Namun Paul membalikkan putusan itu dan memastikan parade sehari sebelum pelantikan presiden Woodrow Wilson. Ini akan memaksimalkan pemberitaan media dan menarik perhatian publik yang akan hadir di kota. Namun, dalam merencanakan parade,
However, in planning the parade, Paul mainly focused on appealing to white women from all backgrounds, including those who were racist. She actively discouraged African American activists and organizations from participating- and stated that those who did so should march in the back.
Paul lebih berfokus pada wanita kulit putih dari berbagai latar belakang termasuk mereka yang rasis. Dia menghalang-halangi para aktivis Amerika Afrika dan organisasi agar tidak ikut serta - dan menyatakan mereka yang ikut harus berbaris di belakang. Namun wanita kulit hitam yang berperan dalam gerakan nasional itu
But black women would not be made invisible in a national movement they helped shape. On the day of the march, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a ground-breaking investigative journalist and anti-lynching advocate, refused to move to the back and proudly marched under the Illinois banner. The co-founder of the NAACP, Mary Church Terrell, joined the parade with the 22 founders of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, an organization created by female students from Howard University. In these ways and more, black women persevered despite deep hostility from white women in the movement, and at great political and physical risk.
tidak bisa diabaikan. Pada hari parade, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, seorang jurnalis investigasi revolusioner dan advokat anti hukuman mati ilegal, menolak dipindah ke belakang dan dengan bangga berbaris membawa bendera Illinois. Salah satu pendiri NAACP, Mary Church Terrell, bergabung bersama 22 pendiri Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, organisasi yang didirikan para mahasiswi Universitas Howard. Dengan demikian, para wanita kulit hitam tetap bertahan walau dikecam oleh para wanita kulit putih, dan terancam secara politis dan fisik. Pada hari parade,
On the day of the parade, suffragists assembled to create a powerful exhibition. The surging sections of the procession included international suffragists, artists, performers and business-owners. Floats came in the form of golden chariots; an enormous Liberty Bell; and a map of enfranchised countries. On the steps of the Treasury Building, performers acted out the historical achievements of women to a live orchestra.
Para aktivis berkumpul membentuk sebuah peragaan yang kuat. Arak-arakannya termasuk para aktivis hak pilih internasional, artis, penampil, dan pemilik bisnis. Tampil pula sebuah kereta kencana berwarna emas; <i>Liberty Bell</i> raksasa; dan peta negara yang memiliki hak pilih. Di anak tangga Treasury Building, para penampil memerankan pencapaian historis wanita diiringi orkestra. Mereka terus berjalan walau dicegat massa,
The marchers carried on even as a mob blocked the route, hurling insults and spitting at women, tossing cigars, and physically assaulting participants. The police did not intervene, and in the end, over 100 women were hospitalized.
yang mencemooh dan meludahi mereka, melempari rokok, dan menyerang para peserta. Polisi tidak menghentikan mereka, akibatnya, lebih dari 100 wanita dirawat di rumah sakit. Penganiayaan ini dilaporkan besar- besaran di seluruh negeri,
Their mistreatment, widely reported throughout the country, catapulted the parade into the public eye— and garnered suffragists greater sympathy. National newspapers lambasted the police, and Congressional hearings investigated their actions during the parade. After the protest, the "Women’s Journal" declared, “Washington has been disgraced. Equal suffrage has scored a great victory."
sehingga diketahui masyarakat luas— dan para aktivis pun mendapat banyak simpati. Surat kabar nasional mencerca polisi, dengar pendapat Kongres turut menyelidiki aksi mereka selama pawai. Setelah demo, “Women’s Journal” menyatakan, “Washington telah dipermalukan. Kesetaraan hak pilih berjaya.” Dengan ini,
In this way, the march initiated a surge of support for women’s voting rights that endured in the coming years. Suffragists kept up steady pressure on their representatives, attended rallies, and petitioned the White House.
gerakan tersebut menginisiasi dukungan untuk hak pilih wanita yang bertahan bertahun-tahun berikutnya. Aktivis hak pilih tetap menekan pada para perwakilan mereka, mengikuti aksi unjuk rasa, dan mengajukan petisi ke Gedung Putih. Inez Milholland, wanita di atas kuda putih,
Inez Milholland, the woman on the white horse, campaigned constantly throughout the United States, despite suffering from chronic health problems. She did not live to see her efforts come to fruition. In 1916, she collapsed while giving a suffrage speech and died soon after. According to popular reports, her last words were, “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?”
terus berkampanye ke seluruh Amerika Serikat, meskipun mengidap sakit kronis. Ia meninggal sebelum menyaksikan buah dari usahanya. Tahun 1916, Ia pingsan saat berpidato tentang hak pilih dan meninggal tak lama kemudian. Menurut laporan, kata-kata terakhirnya adalah, “Pak Presiden, sampai kapan wanita harus menanti kebebasan?” Walau penyertaan voting penuh perlu puluhan tahun,
Though full voting inclusion would take decades, in 1920, Congress ratified the 19th amendment, finally granting women the right to vote.
pada tahun 1920, Kongres meratifikasi amendemen ke-19, yang akhirnya memberikan wanita hak untuk memilih.