Who We Are
The First Sins ~ the First Suffragists
The opening salvo for universal suffrage predates the decades leading up to the 100th-year observance. Rewind 400 years when the first Africans were snatched from their homeland to arrive on these shores. While the record is scant, certainly they resisted enslavement. Women fought for power in governing their bodies, their voices and their choices. These nameless suffrage pioneers carried the torch for all people stripped of the most fundamental form of liberty and self-government. We build on that truth – America’s first cardinal and unrepented sin of human bondage – by redefining suffrage and herstory. This narrative honors the sacrifices and triumphs of descendants of warriors, daughters of slaves, Sheroes in battle on behalf of Indigenous peoples, indentured servants, the landless, the migrants, and working class across our country and over centuries.
Founding Sisters
The Washington Informer Charities (WIC) is the fiscal agent of Suffrage. Race. Power. Established in 1989, WIC is the nonprofit arm of the Washington Informer, a weekly community newspaper that reports on issues for and about the African American community. The Washington Informer walks in the footsteps of Ida B. Wells, Mary Ann Shadd Cary and legions of pioneering Black press journalists and publishers who waged gallant fights against slavery, lynching and discrimination, while advocating for women’s equality and universal suffrage.
Project Team/Advisors
SPONSORS
Initial funding for Suffrage. Race. Power was provided by the following organizations.
“Anonymous” Women Donors Fund
