League of Women Voters Denton Texas

09/02/2026

Your donation helps us purchase more voter guides, pay for booth space at community festivals, and cover the costs of facility rentals

The League of Women Voters of Denton is a nonpartisan, grassroots civic organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy....

08/18/2026

Celebrating Women's Suffrage🎉Full adoption August 26, 1920

On August 18, 1920, Tennessee became the final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment.

By the summer of 1920, thirty-five of the forty-eight states had ratified the amendment, with thirty-six needed for it to pass. Eight states had rejected it, and three others refused even to consider it. That left as a possible 36th only North Carolina — where defeat was all but certain — and Tennessee, which had extended presidential voting rights to women in a bitterly contested battle the previous year.

On August 18, the suffrage measure moved to a vote in the Tennessee House of Representatives. By the time they got to 24-year-old Harry Burn, the youngest member of the legislature, they were two votes shy of the required majority.

Burn represented a strenuously anti-suffrage rural district, but that morning, a page had handed him a letter from his mother, in which she asked him to "be a good boy and help Mrs. Catt," referencing suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt.

To the astonishment of all, Harry Burn voted "aye", bringing the tally dead even. At the last possible moment, Representative Banks Turner, professed opponent of ratification, announced he wished to be recorded as having voted "aye."

A rush wire from Nashville with the news soon reached a waiting Alice Paul, who hastily stitched the long-awaited 36th star to the flag she used to track ratification in the states. Eight days later, the 19th Amendment was certified, enfranchising 26 million women of voting age.

📸: Alice Paul, national chairman of the Woman's Party, unfurling the ratification banner from suffrage headquarters, Washington, DC, August 18, 1920. (Library of Congress)

07/26/2026

July 26 marks 100 days until the Nov 3 General Election.
Get ready by asking your voting questions in the comments

07/22/2026

The League of Women Voters Denton Texas is co-sponsoring!
Join us on August 1 for
Ready. Set. Go! Denton
rsvp https://secure.ngpvan.com/ACNPB9YMAkOc-AVoj5hhEg2
An interfaith event from Texas Impact

Democracy doesn’t preserve itself. As Texans, we aren’t afraid to dig deep and put in the work to protect this vital part of American life.
Texas Impact, in partnership with a diverse network of interfaith voices from across North Texas, is convening a community of people who are done watching from the sidelines.
This is a half-day civic engagement training built for faith communities, advocates, and anyone who’s ever asked, “What can I actually do?”
Through keynote speakers, hands-on workshops, and grassroots strategy sessions, you’ll leave with real tools for legislative advocacy, community organizing, and leadership development.
You’ll leave with not only inspiration, but a plan.
What you’ll gain:

Practical advocacy skills for the Texas legislative landscape
A network of faith-rooted civic leaders across North Texas
Frameworks for turning conviction into civic action

Whether you’re brand new to advocacy or looking to sharpen your organizing edge, there’s a seat at the table for you.
The world is shaped by those who show up. Will you?
Two events. Two Locations.
Capacity is limited, so don’t wait.
Scholarships are available if cost is a barrier to attending. Please reach out to [email protected] if financial assistance is needed.
Lunch is included in your registration.

07/15/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EcyNLHq9K/

Sixteen of the "Silent Sentinels," the group of suffragists who picketed in front of the White House for two and a half years for women's suffrage, were arrested on this day in 1917. The women were charged with “obstructing traffic” and sentenced to 60 days in jail at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia. The Silent Sentinels were organized by the National Woman's Party, led by suffrage leaders Alice Paul and Lucy Burns. The vigil began on January 10, 1917 and continued every day and night, except Sunday, until June 1919 when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed both the House and the Senate.

Many of the nearly 2,000 different women who participated in the vigil were arrested at various times. Although President Woodrow Wilson pardoned the 16 arrested on July 14 after three days, Alice Paul and others were famously arrested in October of that year. Paul was sentenced to seven months in prison. When she returned to the Occoquan Workhouse with a group of 32 suffrage prisoners, they endured what became known as the "Night of Terror" when they were brutalized by nearly 40 guards. In protest of the abuse and dreadful conditions at the Occoquan Workhouse, Burns and Paul joined other suffragists in a hunger strike.

Fearing that one of the women would die and lead to more negative press attention, the warden ordered the women be force fed. Historian Eleanor Clift recounts that the force feeding of Lucy Burns required "five people to hold her down, and when she refused to open her mouth, they shoved the feeding tube up her nostril" -- a dangerous and extremely painful feeding method. Widespread press coverage of these abuses, along with on-going protests, strongly influenced the Wilson Administration who declared, in January 1918, that women's suffrage was urgently needed as a "war measure" and asked Congress to act.

The suffragists' dedicated efforts brought the attention of the world to the struggle for women’s rights in America, and led to the ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920. This marked the victorious end of a 72-year long struggle to achieve equal voting rights for women which had begun at the first women's right conference organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848.

To read the harrowing story of the "Night of Terror" and how it galvanized support for women's suffrage across the U.S. during the final push for the passage of the 19th Amendment, visit https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=16987

For an excellent children's book about this final critical stage of the Suffrage Movement, we highly recommend "Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and Their Big Idea" for ages 7 to 12 at https://www.amightygirl.com/how-women-won-the-vote

There is also a fantastic picture book about Alice Paul and her leadership during this critical period in the fight for women's rights: "Fight of the Century
Alice Paul Battles Woodrow Wilson for the Vote" for ages 5 to 9 at https://www.amightygirl.com/fight-of-the-century

For a fascinating book for adult readers about the final fight for the ratification of the 19th Amendment during the summer of 1920, we also recommend "The Woman's Hour" at https://www.amightygirl.com/the-woman-s-hour

To learn more about Alice Paul and Lucy Burns' fascinating story and their important legacy in securing women's right to vote, the film "Iron Jawed Angels" is highly recommended for viewers 13 and up at https://www.amightygirl.com/iron-jawed-angels

For more books for children, teens, and adults about the heroic women of the Suffrage Movement, visit our blog post, "The Best Books About the U.S. Suffrage Movement For Kids and Adults, ” at https://www.amightygirl.com/blog?p=11827

And for our favorite t-shirt honoring women throughout history who were willing to shake up the system, check out the "Well behaved women seldom make history" t-shirt -- available in a variety of styles and colors for all ages -- at https://www.amightygirl.com/well-behaved-women-history-shirt

06/18/2026

If you missed the previous screenings of Quakertown, tune in this Friday night June 19 to KERA

Coming soon to KERA PBS.

After screening to two sold-out audiences at the 2026 Denton Black Film Festival, Quakertown, USA will air on KERA's Frame of Mind at 10:00 PM on Juneteenth.

The documentary explores the story of Denton's historic Black community of Quakertown and the lasting impact of its displacement. Through historical records, community voices, and lived memory, the film examines how prosperity, race, and power converged in Denton—and how the legacy of Quakertown continues to shape conversations about belonging, progress, and justice today.

While rooted in Denton, this is not simply a local story. Quakertown's experience reflects a broader history repeated in communities across America, where thriving Black neighborhoods were disrupted, displaced, or erased. The story of Quakertown helps us better understand both our local history and a larger American story.
DBFF is proud to have served as Executive Producer alongside filmmakers King Hollis and Lindell Singleton.

📺 KERA PBS – Frame of Mind
🕙 10:00 PM Central
🗓 June 19, 2026

06/04/2026

On this day in 1919, Congress approved the woman’s suffrage amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. Adding the amendment to the Constitution required ratification by three-fourths of the states, which at that time was 36 of 48.

The National Woman’s Party led by Alice Paul began sewing stars on a giant purple, white, and gold flag. Each time a state ratified the 19th Amendment, a new star would be sewn on the flag.

The 19th Amendment became law more than a year after Congress approved the amendment. The 36th state, Tennessee, voted to ratify on August 18, 1920. This image shows Alice Paul unfurling that flag from the suffrage headquarters on that day.

The Library of Congress is home to the NWP records and library collection.

Image: Photo shows a group of women waving their arms in celebration while the ratification banner with its 36 victory stars hangs from the balcony of the National Woman's Party headquarters. 1920. Photo by Harris & Ewing. National Women's Party Records, Library of Congress.