On One Woman’s Big Night at the Democratic Convention, Many Women Celebrated

As America marked the centennial of the 19th Amendment, Wednesday night’s installment of the Democratic National Convention embraced the milestone for women’s suffrage, with nods to the movement’s complicated history — only white women won the vote at first — and tributes to women who had “broken the marble ceiling,” in the words of the first female speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi.

Senator Kamala Harris, accepting the vice-presidential nomination and becoming the first Black woman and the first Indian-American woman named to a major party’s ticket, began by making note of the anniversary, lauding both the women who had fought and won, and those who fought but were themselves overlooked.

“So many of the Black women who helped secure that victory were still prohibited from voting long after its ratification,” Ms. Harris said. “But they were undeterred. Without fanfare or recognition, they organized and testified and rallied and marched and fought not just for their vote but for a seat at the table. These women and the generations that followed worked to make democracy and opportunity real in the lives of all of us who followed.”

The speakers who appeared before Ms. Harris on Wednesday sounded similar notes.

“100 years ago yesterday, the 19th amendment to the Constitution was ratified,” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. “It took seven decades of marching and picketing and going to jail to push us closer to a more perfect union.”