104 Years After the 19th Amendment: What’s Changed (and What Hasn’t), in GIFs

104 years ago, the 19th Amendment was ratified, marking a historic moment for women’s voting rights in the United States.

The 19th Amendment:

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.”

The 19th Amendment’s ratification came on the heels of a nearly century-long battle that began in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848.

But, while the 19th Amendment enshrined voting rights for some, many women still faced barriers at the polls and elsewhere.

Black women and women of color led their own decades-long protest movements for voting rights before and after 1920.

The activism of civil rights leaders like Fannie Lou Hamer led to the passage of the historic 1965 Voting Rights Act and the 24th Amendment — both of which prohibited voter suppression tactics used against Black voters in the South.

In 1975, President Gerald Ford signed into law a Voting Rights Act extension protecting the voting rights of non-English speaking citizens.

The 19th Amendment also led to women lawmakers, such as Rep. Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to Congress.

Mink co-authored and led the fight for Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded schools.

Mink was one of few women serving in Congress, and in 1971, became the first Asian-American person to run for president.

Today, a record 153 women are serving in the 118th U.S. Congress — 61 of whom are women of color.

Vice President Kamala Harris made history in 2020 as the first woman, Black woman and Asian American to be elected vice president.

In 2024, the fight continues, as leaders fight for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The ERA would ban discrimination on the basis of sex nationwide. In 2020, Virginia became the 38th state to ratify the amendment, pushing the ERA over the constitutional ratification threshold.

The ratification of the ERA would broadly enhance laws protecting pay equity and reproductive health care nationally.

Lawmakers today are also calling to renew the Voting Rights Act in light of new voter suppression efforts nationwide.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 14 states enacted 17 restrictive voting laws in 2023.

From 1920 to 2024, the struggle for voting rights continues.

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