- Women's history isn't just something we look back on, it's something we're living every day.

This week on Inspire, we're honoring the Kansas women who fought for the right to vote, to be heard, and to lead.

Join us for a meaningful conversation about women's history, women's rights, and why our voices still matter.

Coming up on Inspire.

Inspire is sponsored by the Raymond C and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and by the estate of Ray and Anne Goldsmith.

Hello.

Welcome to Inspire.

I'm thrilled to be here with my wonderful co-host, Amy Kelly, and it is women's history.

It's not just about the past, it's about how we live, vote, work, and raise our children.

Today, - From the right to vote to the right to be heard, women's history tells us a powerful story of courage.

- Today we're exploring milestones in women's history and how the fight continues with Kara Heights, lecturer in history, Kansas City Art Institute, and Dr.

Suzanne Orr, associate professor of History, Kansas State University.

Welcome ladies.

Thank you - So much.

You, so much.

Thank you for having us.

- Let's start with something great positive.

Kansas has been a leader in several things in women's rights.

How so?

- Well, so Kansas, and we're, we're gonna go all the way back to the 18 hundreds.

I know that's, you know, Kansas obviously becomes a state in 1861, And from the very beginning in 1861, women were granted the right to vote in school board elections, which sounds a little gendered, right?

Right.

But at least it's a, it's, it's, to start, it's a, it's a big advancement.

In 1867, there was actually a vote in Kansas, a ballot measure to give women and two separate ballot measures.

African Americans, the right to vote.

Both fail, but it's the first time that women's suffrage is on, on, on a state's ballot for voters to decide.

And so women in Kansas, they, they, you know, there's some amazing advocates for, for women's suffrage.

Chlorine Nichols is a name that a lot of people bring up.

You know, she was here during bleeding Kansas.

She was an abolitionist.

A lot of advocates for women's voting rights at that time were also vehemently anti-slavery.

They were also against alcohol, but that's another issue.

But by 1887, through a lot of organizing and grassroots campaigning, and, and, and just sheer, you know, will women in Kansas in 1887 received the right to vote in municipal elections.

And that same year, the first woman mayor in the nation right, is elected in Kansas.

You know, and there are other individuals too, who are elected, sort of, you know, the second and third female mayor in Kansas, the second all women's city council in the late 18 hundreds, 1890s, I believe there are, I think it's 18 women elected mayor Wow.

To Kansas Town.

So Susan Salter is the first woman mayor in the country from Argonia.

Wow.

And Mary Loman is elected mayor the next year in Osklalosa on the Oskaloosa improvement ticket.

And she serves with an all female city council.

And then Lucy Sullivan in 1889 has elected mayor and led an all women city council in Baldwin.

And maybe this is a point where we can kind of deviate a little bit and talk about how these women perceived, they're often called Petticoat govts and Petticoat councils, because they're bringing up issues.

Women are concerned about Lucy Baldwin or Lucy Sullivan and Baldwin institutes something still standing today, a women's bridge to spare female travelers muddy skirts.

Right.

But they're also doing things like instituting reforms and cleaning up government.

So there's this perception at the time that women, because they were more moral, because they were mothers and because they ran households, they can come in and sort of clean up corruption and clean up inefficiency.

So it's still kind of a, a, a gendered perspective.

And then finally, I'll say, I'll turn things over to Suzanne, but 1912, like many states in the West, Kansas gives women full voting rights before national suffrage.

So that's when Kansas women get full voting rights eight years before nationally, all women have the right to vote.

- Yeah.

That approach of women arguing that they should have suffrage, it comes from their role as wives and mothers, that sense of maternalism.

And so you can see the kinds of reforms that they were interested in, children's education, Healthcare, cleaning up, cleaning up city streets.

And women really wanted that right to vote, not just in a general philosophical sense, because this men equality, but because they wanted to enact policies that people's day-to-day lives.

And when they actually get suffrage, there's a moment where people don't really entirely know what that's gonna look like across the whole country.

In some cases.

Do they join a political party?

Are they gonna be Democrats or Republicans or women above political parties?

People didn't really know, and it's actually a bit sad that a lot of activists end up somewhat disappointed with how it turns out because they had wanted to mobilize women so much, and they realize that women have, in, in actuality so many different viewpoints that they're fractured, - As we were talking about before, is that there is, women's history is kind of almost a misnomer, - Right.

- Because there are so many different paths and ideas and thoughts within women.

Making 'em all collective is really unfair because when you're talking about women's history in Kansas, we're not talking about all women.

We're talking about white women.

Right?

I mean, we're not talking about in indigenous women or black women or, or women of color of any sort.

Is that, isn't that true?

- Well, we could, we could love to.

Yeah.

And we say women get the right to vote in 1920, but effectively in the Jim Crow South, black women are disenfranchised.

Right.

And, and many Native American women weren't considered full citizens in 1924.

Right.

So, you know, there, there's a lot there that, that kind of gets obscured by this, this narrative of progress.

So - Yeah, the suffrage movement was a segregated movement.

And so there are African American women fighting for suffrage, and they're fighting for their own suffrage, but they're also fighting for black men's suffrage at the same time.

- And actually going back to 1867, where there's both the vote to give women the right to vote and, and, and African Americans the right to vote in Kansas, it's actually the, the, the, the women's rights, the suffrage movement, you know, they were divided over whether they support African American suffrage because they thought it would be detrimental to their cause.

And there was a lot of divisiveness in the women's throughout all areas of the women's movement about, you know, is this about women's equality?

Is this about minority women's equality?

Is this about, you know, issues of class, you know, get, get thrown in there?

And so there's, there's a lot of divisions that, that kind of get glossed over.

- Dr or you, you specialize in immigration.

What are you seeing?

Advancement.

It just seems like now's not the best time.

What, what's your, what are your thoughts?

- It's, it's very complicated in that there isn't a clear narrative of progress that's happening.

So say, going back to the early 20th century and the suffrage movement, one of the things that the middle class women who are interested in promoting suffrage did well was actually reach out towards working class voters and towards immigrants and or potential voters.

And to try and convince them not just with abstract ways that voting would be a good thing, it would promote equality, but to talk about very concrete policies of this is how it's going to improve your lives as workers.

And so that helps bring people on into a movement because they can see how this might advance their interests as not just as women, but as a group, as a class, as, as new American citizens, what they can potentially do with those rights.

So there are moments where the movement tries to bring people in and create unity, but then there are other moments where it's completely fractured and racial divisions, that's something that the movement struggled to overcome and does through the 20th century.

- We'll get more into that in a minute.

From suffrage to modern activism, women have never stopped fighting for our rights.

We'll learn more about how we can all stay engaged, informed, and hopeful.

Coming up, please stay with us on inspire A newly created mural honoring women who played a significant role in the statewide and national struggle for women's voting rights was dedicated during the 2025 Kansas Day celebrations at the Kansas Capitol.

The mural entitled Rebel Women was the creation of artist Phyllis Garbe-Coon of Manhattan, Kansas, who sought to tell the story of 13 major Kansas suffragists through her artwork.

The mural spans 60 years from 1859 to 1919, showcasing figures such as Clarina Nichols from Quindaro, who achieved voting rights for women in school elections in 1859.

And Jane Brooks of Wichita, who served as the president of the Kansas Equal Suffrage Association in 1919.

The upper part of the mural is adorned with numerous suffragists dressed in white, while various symbols representing Kansas and women's actions fill this emotionally impactful piece.

A banner at the top displays the wording of the 1912 Kansas Constitutional amendment that granted women full suffrage.

The idea for the mural was the brainchild of Kansas Suffragist Memorial Committee, which was formed through the combined efforts of the League of Women Voters of Kansas and the Kansas American Association of University Women.

- Well, I think the biggest reason is that when you look at that and you see examples of courage and action, that that's what we want our young people to be able to, to do.

I think when we talked about what, what are our goals?

Well, we wanna inspire the next generation.

And when you look at that and, and you see the courage and the hard work that it took, you can do hard work too.

And, and hopefully that's our, that's our goals.

That's what we want.

- You know, we have had mentors that inspired us in our generations.

And if it's time to go further back and see, you know, there, there's, there's somebody back there that got us to vote.

You know, it didn't happen last right.

In the sixties.

Right, right.

There was protests in the sixties, but they already had the vote.

They were protesting other things.

So it was time to acknowledge that with the centennial of the women's director role by the role of Kansas and Kansans.

And it just was time.

- The committee's mission is to honor Kansas women who played a significant role in the statewide and national struggle for women's voting rights.

This public art piece aims to inspire reflection on Kansas' history, educate people about important Kansas figures, and instill these values in future generations.

- The fight for women's rights hasn't ended.

It's still evolving.

We are learning from our guests, Kara Heights lecturer in history at the Kansas City Art Institute, and Dr.

Suzanne Orr, associate professor of history at Kansas State University.

Okay.

So I learned something new.

I was a history major, you know, so I love history, but I learned, I did not remember, even though I was alive at the time, that the ERA passed Kansas was the seventh state to pass the ERA back in 1972.

Can Dr.

Orr, can you talk to, to that?

So we need to say Yeah.

Equal rights amendment.

Oh, so in case somebody, yeah, sorry.

Equal Rights amendment.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

So the ERA when it first comes up is surprisingly uncontroversial.

And lots of states do rally behind it, including Kansas.

And it's only later that it starts to break down, and there's a movement that grows against it.

Phyllis Schlafly is probably the best known opponent of the ERA who created this stop, ERA campaign, stop taking our privileges was how she framed it.

And she started pushing back, saying some of the pro, some of the things that will happen would be women would be forced to serve in the military, women wouldn't get the special protections they have in law.

And that started catch on with some people starting to make it much more controversial.

And the arguments were really rooted in women as different, and women as keepers of the family.

- You know, I, I think more specifically in the Kansas context, I just wanna give a shout out to the fact that there was an early iteration to get an ERA passed in the 1920s after women's suffrage.

And the individual to introduce that bill, which failed to the Senate was Charles Curtis, Senator from Kansas Leader Vice President, right.

And Republican.

Yeah.

So I, and, and you know, as Suzanne mentioned, you know, among Kansans, you know, in, in 71 when it's being discussed, 72, when when Congress passes it, you know, Bob Dole is in support of it, it is not a part, it is not a hugely partisan issue.

It's really seen as kind of equal pay for equal work.

Of course, this makes sense.

You know, Kansas, as you mentioned, is the seventh state to ratify it.

So it March 22nd, 72, it gets, Congress sends it to the states, Kansas ratifies it March 28th.

Wow.

And it's a, it's a, a Republican member of Congress who, who who, you know, put puts it, puts it to the floor for a vote.

And I don't remember the vote exactly, but it's, it's at least 65% I think in the, in the lower chamber in Kansas, about 65% voted for.

And I think in the Senate it's like 70, 75.

I mean, it's just, it's seen as common sense.

But as Suzanne indicated, what what really starts to happen is there's a backlash.

So 30 states, I think ratify it in the same year in 72, and then it takes I think about five more years for another five states to ratify it.

- But - During that same period, five states rescind it.

So, and it, it, it, you know, I talked to a lot of people in, in some of my research in the Kansas context, I said, what happened?

And even though she's in national figure, they all said it's Phyllis Laffy and the Stop ERA and the Eagle Forum that it is a, you know, ironically, even though, you know, she's advocating for a more conservative view of women's rights, she is sort of textbook in some ways the life that feminists wanted for women.

Right.

You know, she, she has a master's from Radcliffe and, and you know, she's a, this brilliant political organizer, and she's going around the country speaking, and there's grassroots groups in towns in Kansas who start organizing around stop ERA.

Some of them are directly with her.

Interestingly enough, some of, some of the sort of conservative stop ERA groups don't organize with her because she's Catholic.

And so it's more conservative Protestants.

But, so there's really kind of this, this, this, this, it's, it's a, it's a brilliant set of media strategies that she engages in to convince women in Kansas and nationally that they're actually gonna lose rights.

You know, we also see this, and, and I can sort of say a little something to this, maybe you can speak more about this, it's also kind of the beginning of what we call the culture wars.

So that some of the language that you see in the anti ERA side is men and women will have to share bathrooms together.

You know, women will be drafted, you know, there might be people who are gay teaching your children, you know, and, and so I think like those divisions that really strongly start to take hold in the seventies and the eighties and, and those very strong sort of moral and cultural divisions, the eras kind of the thing that gets those divisions and gets the, the culture war moving.

And of course, we still see that today.

So - Doctor, or do you see us going backwards in any way?

- I don't know if framing things as going backwards versus going forwards is useful in understanding, you know, all of the pieces that are going on, we are engaging in, in similar styles of debates, but there's always a new turn.

And when we think of rights, for instance, the equal rights amendment or lists of rights, we often think of those things as, you know, formal as stable, but they're actually not especially stable.

And every generation has its own concept of what rights should be and who should be able to possess those rights.

And so I think what we see, rather than forward progress or backwards progress always is, is cultural shifts and ideas about how rights are changing and what rights mean.

- But hasn't Kansas been, you had said earlier that Kansas was very progressive, you know, which is changing early on, early on, very, very progressive.

But at least in my more recent history Sure.

Doesn't feel that way.

Is that still, is this, are we just part of the, you know, if you look at the long term, maybe it's okay, but, but it doesn't quite feel like it is progressive as it used to be, or are we, are we just talking about cultural shifts again?

I mean, three of our - Past six governors have been democratic women.

Well, that, that's true.

And I also think of the, the, the, the, the vote on, on abortion recently.

Right, right.

I think Kansas is just kind of weird, and I don't mean that in a bad way.

Right.

I mean, it, you know, there Kansas was always about political experimentation and, and, and trying different ideas.

And I, you know, I think we kind of go down one path for a while and, and then kind of change there.

There's, there's, I think there's, there's a, a, a diversity and a complexity of political views among Kansans that maybe the typical people they elect don't quite represent.

- I think Kansas has a rebellious streak to it, and that it, that it's had since its founding, and that as a state that it doesn't like having that same governor and Congress, you know, the, from the same political party.

And some votes don't go the way people expect everything.

There isn't always a clear answer.

And I think there's underlying that certain, almost indivi, a sense of individualism that goes along with it.

Little bit of concern about too much centralized power and authority and, you know, a desire for, for places to, you know, to preserve their, their views.

- How important is it for all of us, no matter what age to stay involved, Dr.

Orr, - So this I think, is fundamental.

And I do believe the one thing that people can do if they want to honor all of the women and advocates of suffrage and of rights who went before us, is to vote that it's time to check what your voter registration is, do it long before there's an election, and get involved in some way.

And voting is one of the most important things people can do.

- And, and that long history of, of activism, I mean, maybe we don't agree with everything that, that they, that they wanted to get done.

I think of Carrie Nation, you know, smashing Saloons, right?

I mean, you know, we, we kind of have a love hate relationship with her, but I think what, what, what, what, what women across the nation, but Kansas women, you know, particularly did in in these moments was organize grassroots, organizing and voting.

Absolutely.

But also advocating and getting other people involved.

And I mean, that's, that's what makes democracy work.

- So it's not fair to say that women's rights are settled or saved.

- No, no, no.

Rights are something that are never fully settled.

Right?

And it's something that people always have to be vigilant about and be engaged in about and doing small things like talking to your neighbors.

It matters.

- Or watching programs like you.

Kara and Suzanne, thank you very much for joining us on Inspire and for showing us what's possible when women and men stand together to ensure our rights.

And we'll be back with a few closing thoughts in just a moment.

So please stay with us.

- We are back with Kara Heinz and Dr.

Suzanne Orr.

Let's continue our discussion.

And you know, regrettably, there are things that are for women fought for that are still going on today.

Dr.

Orr, will you address that?

- Well, a lot of the battles that we've seen in the past are, are still ongoing issues.

Yes.

Maybe suffrage has been settled, but those questions about equality and actually even what does equality mean?

Those are ongoing issues in American society.

- I'll also say a lot of those battles aren't necessarily battles that will be adjudicated through law or policy, right?

I mean, I think of, of battles things like who takes the burden of childcare and housework, I think of, you know, you know, economic issues and, and sort of interpersonal kinds of issues of equality.

Those are still things that we're fighting.

And that's not necessarily something that is, is, is a necessarily a legal issue, but it's still, you know, we can win, win all the laws that we won in our favor.

But they're still, I think, a lot of aspects of equality that aren't necessarily a, a adjudicated through the courts or, or addressed through policy.

- That makes sense.

And what's one thing that we can take away that the, that our viewers can hold onto and, and feel positive about?

- Well, to paraphrase an another historian of women's history, that first to remember that women's history is serious history.

And that serious history always takes into account that there are people on both sides of an issue.

And so women have been on both sides of every question, every revolution.

And there were women who oppose suffrage as well as women who supported it, women who oppose the ERA as well as supported it.

And so to understand our past, we have to understand all of those women.

- I also think we're not perfect, but I do think that political organizing that looks at women's issues has gotten better at representing a diversity of more, a better diversity of women's views.

You know, a lot of times the early women's movements, even the ERA, we're really focused on middle class women, middle class white women.

And I think now we do have a space where we hear the voices of less economically privileged women of black women, Latinx women, native women.

And it's not, and we're not there.

But I think that we hear those voices now where before we didn't.

- Well, that's fascinating.

'cause I also like to consider that is, is is the opportunity to be heard.

It's, it's, you know, oh, I, I see you, I hear you.

But it's not quite exactly that, that simple of context because you know, I see you women, but, but there's indigenous women, there's, like you said, Latinx women.

There's all these different, different types of cultures and different histories.

And so the best thing we can do is keep talking, right?

Right.

And have shows like this on Inspire about history being a history buff.

I love having these conversations and I can do this for hours, but unfortunately that is all the time we have for today.

We thank our lovely guests again, Kara Heights and Suzanne Orr for joining us on Inspire.

And as a reminder, you can watch this program again at watch.ktwu.org.

- And if you're so inspired to learn more about our guests, find out what's coming up on future shows and get access to additional content, be sure to visit our website at ktwu.org/inspire - Celebrating the women who have shaped history and continue to shape our world.

Inspiring you on KTWU.

Thank you for watching.

- Inspire is sponsored by the Raymond C and Marguerite Gibson Foundation, and by the estate of Ray and Anne Goldsmith.