Q&A: Young Minnesotans reflect on 19th Amendment and look toward future

Raie Gessesse, 22

Cottage Grove, Program manager at Ignite National

Q: Are you politically active?

A: "I have been politically active now ever since my freshman year in college. I started school at Hamline University and I was very interested in finding ways that I can be involved and I ended up applying for the Young Women's Cabinet. It's a partnership between the Women's Foundation and the governor's office of Minnesota, and the cool thing about this is that the governor appoints the cabinet, and we get to advise him on policies that impact the lives of young women across Minnesota."

Q: When did you learn about the 19th Amendment?

A: "In high school, we always learned that the 19th Amendment was the amendment that gave women the right to vote. But lo and behold, I got into college, and I took a series of political science and gender studies courses where I learned that the 19th Amendment left out women that look like me. Black women, Indigenous women, immigrant women, queer women were left out."

Q: As a woman of color, do you feel left out of the centennial?

A: "As we're talking about the centennial, I think it's so important to make sure that we not forget the women of color who not only participated in the suffrage movement that left them behind, but continued to fight for inclusion until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which actually gave all people the right to vote, and which is even still being fought today. I think the 19th Amendment is one moment in history and it may have marked the end for white women, their suffrage, their win, but it actually was the beginning for others. I think it's important to acknowledge both of those truths as we talk about celebration."

Q: How can women continue to harness their political power in 2020 and beyond?

A: "With regards to women in politics, we're watching 'the Squad' right now in Congress, and they have all been reelected in their primaries. This is the future of our country. The diversity that our generation represents is going to be the future of this country, and women have always been on the forefront."

Anna Koenning, 20

Minneapolis, Student at the University of Minnesota

Q: Are you politically active?

A: "I voted as soon as I could. I have a minor in political science and I'm a research assistant for a political-science professor, so I spend many hours a week researching political topics."

Q: When did you learn about the 19th Amendment?

A: "I was aware of it [previously] but I think we went more in depth in 11th- and 12th-grade history. We definitely learned about the suffragette movement. High school history is so whitewashed and history in general is very whitewashed. It wasn't until probably college when somebody pointed out that white women could vote then. That makes celebrating the 19th Amendment feel a little weird. Like, we weren't totally there yet, for another many years. I remember learning in American history that once women earned the right to vote that not many actually voted."

Q: Does it mean anything to you?

A: "My great-grandma, who died a couple of years ago, was born a few months before the 19th Amendment. She was alive during the 2016 election and somebody gave her an absentee ballot and she voted for Hillary Clinton. I think it was really cool that she was born before women could vote and she got to see a woman so close to the presidency."

Q: How can women continue to harness their political power in 2020 and beyond?

A: "I want to see more women in power and more women of color in power because I think that representation is very important."

Emma McIntyre, 18

Minneapolis, Student, Normandale Community College

Q: Are you politically active?

A: McIntyre voted for the first time on primary day earlier this month. She also phone-banks for the DFL.

Q: When did you learn about the 19th Amendment?

A: "I first learned about the 19th Amendment in elementary school, but it was just basic. I really learned the history of it when I was doing research about the women's suffrage movement and how Susan B. Anthony wasn't as great as people make her seem today. A lot of white women thought that African American women shouldn't have the right to vote which divided the suffrage movement greatly."

Q: Does it mean anything to you?

A: "I think about it a lot, especially around this time of year I think about it more because of election time. I think it's so crazy that 100 years ago, I wouldn't have been able to vote. To me, it just seems like such a given now."

Q: How can women continue to harness their political power in 2020 and beyond?

A: "I work for the DFL, I do a lot of calling for them, and when people talk to me, they talk a lot about Ilhan Omar. Even if you don't like her politics, some of the comments people say are very sexist, [similarly] to how Hillary was treated when she was running for president. It's interesting to see that even in the Democratic Party, we still have a lot of sexism and racism."

Hillary Lor, 25

St. Paul, Board member, Ramsey County Equity Action Circle

Q: Are you politically active?

A: "I was politically active when I was around the age of 15, that's when I started doing community organizing, where I was volunteering for political campaigns, helping to phone-bank and door-knock. But I did have to retire a bit a few years ago, so the last campaign I worked with was with Marny Xiong, may she rest in peace and power. I make sure to show up for every election, and I always make sure to encourage my friends and my family to vote, to register to vote."

Q: When did you learn about the 19th Amendment?

A: I did learn about the 19th Amendment, and about women being able to vote, but I felt like at the time, I guess it was normalized that all women were able to vote. But it wasn't until college when I took critical studies of race and ethnicity classes that the truth was that not all women were able to vote.

Q: As a woman of color, do you feel left out of the centennial?

A: "For me, as an Asian-American, getting to focus on that part of the history was important. I feel like to have that celebration of 100 years, I'd say that we can't joyfully celebrate if everyone was never welcomed, or included in the first place. It can be a teaching opportunity to share that truth but I feel like as a woman of color and, experiencing racism for a very long time, I just get to that point where I get tired of having to teach, having to always educate.

Q: How can women continue to harness their political power in 2020 and beyond?

A: "I am really hopeful. During my time community organizing, especially in the Hmong community, I see a lot more women rising up to be leaders, because for a long time in the Hmong community, women have always been silenced or ignored, not valued. Being able to receive a higher education and having mentorship I see a lot of great Hmong women leaders, as well as great women leaders from other communities of color, and it makes me hopeful that now we do have a time to shine and that there will be equality and equity.