The Chattanooga Bar Association celebrated the Annual Law Day virtually live from the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. The theme this year was "Your Vote, Your Voice, Our Democracy: The 19th Amendment at 100."
In 2019-2020, the United States is commemorating the centennial of the transformative constitutional amendment that guaranteed the right of citizens to vote would not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex. American women fought for, and won, the vote through their voice and action. The women's suffrage movement forever changed America, expanding representative democracy and inspiring other popular movements for constitutional change and reform. Yet, honest reflection on the suffrage movement reveals complexity and tensions over race and class that remain part of the ongoing story of the Nineteenth Amendment and its legacies.
The Chattanooga Bar Association was live from the Hermitage Hotel in Nashville. "We were honored and was it fitting to be live from the Hotel. The Hotel is just a block from the state Capitol, and both the Pro and Anti-Suffrage groups headquartered there for six weeks leading up to the final vote," said Lynda Hood, executive director.
Representatives Patsy Hazlewood, Robin Smith and Esther Helton were live from the state Capitol and presented the CBA with a Proclamation celebrating Law Day.
Each year, the Chattanooga Bar Association honors an outstanding citizen in the Chattanooga area with the prestigious "Liberty Bell Award" for public service. This award is awarded annual by all bar associations across the country. The purpose of the "Liberty Bell Award" is to recognize community service that has strengthened the America system of freedom under law. In selecting the recipient of this award, the Chattanooga Bar Association considers such service as including activities which (1) promotes better understanding of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights; (2) encourage a greater respect for the law and the courts; (3) stimulates a deeper sense of individual responsibility so that citizens recognize their duties as well as their rights; (4) contribute to the effective functioning of our institutions of government; and (5) foster a better understanding and appreciation of the rule of law. Lawyers and judges are not eligible for the award; however, all other fields of endeavor are intended for the inclusion, namely education, business, sciences, communications, labor, government, religion, professions and youth organizations.
This year, the Chattanooga Bar Association honored two recipients of the prestigious award, Genneral B.B. Bell and Joann Humphries Favors.
An interesting fact about the Liberty Bell is that a replica of the Liberty Bell, forged in 1915, was used to promote women's suffrage. It traveled the country with its clapper chained to its side, silent until women won the right to vote. On September 25, 1920, it was brought to Independence Hall and rung in ceremonies celebrating the ratification of the 19th amendment.
Speakers
Paula Casey of Memphis has dedicated more than 30 years to educating the public about Tennessee's pivotal role in the 19th Amendment's ratification in 1920. She produced a video in 1989 entitled "Generations: American Women Win the Vote," and helped publish the book, The Perfect 36: Tennessee Delivers Woman Suffrage, which was donated to every school, library and college in the state. She served on the committee that selected the bas relief plaque that hangs inside the State Capitol Building in 1998 depicting Tennessee's ratification. She has been instrumental in getting suffragist public art placed in Nashville, Jackson and Memphis. She co-founded the award-winning Tennessee Woman Suffrage Heritage Trail with Jacque Hillman of Jackson that highlights the monuments, markers, gravesites and suffrage-related places of interest - www.lnwoman uff ragehe Ji taget rail. com. She also helped edit the book, Why Can't Mother Vote? Joseph Hanover and the Unfinished Business of Democracy, by Bill Haltom, Memphis attorney.
Linda Moss Mines is co-chair of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Yellow Rose Suffrage Commemoration Committee and as a member of the Tennessee Woman 100 Official Committee. She is the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Historian, a member of the Tennessee Historical Commission and the Tennessee Cemetery Committee, Chairman of the Board, Erlanger Health Systems, Secretary, Chattanooga Area Veterans Council and Regent, Chief John Ross Chapter, NSDAR. Having worked 45 years as a history teacher/administrator, including almost 30 years as History Chair at GPS, Linda's passion is community education. She is Vice-President, Education for the Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center and serves on the Sgt. York Patriotic Foundation Board.
The Annual Law Day Celebration ended with attorney and author, Bill Haltom speaking on his new book, "Why Can't Mother Vote?". On August 18, 1920, thirty-year-old Tennessee State Representative Joseph Hanover walked through the lobby of The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville to be greeted by cheers and jeers. Joe Hanover had become the nation's leading male voice in the fight for Woman suffrage. The most powerful forces in Tennessee opposed him. But Joe Hanover, a Polish immigrant, was not going to back away from the fight. He asked, "Why can't Mother vote?" And then he set about to take care of the unfinished business of Democracy. In his latest book, Bill tells the inspirational story of this unsung hero of Woman suffrage.
About Law Day
Law Day is an annual commemoration first held in 1957 when American Bar Association President Charles Rhynes envisioned a special national day to mark our nation's commitment to the rule of law. The following year, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first Law Day Proclamation. Law Day was made official in 1961 when Congress issued a joint resolution designating May 1 as the official date for celebrating Law Day.