What do gum and a woman’s right to vote have in common?
No, it’s not an unsolvable riddle.
It’s the way that Homer native Jessica Jenkins feels about the women’s suffrage movement, which celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2020.
“I kind of got hooked on the topic when I was in graduate school,” Jenkins said. “I always like to tell everyone, it’s kind of like a piece of gum on the sidewalk, I stepped on it and I couldn’t get it off. I just can’t seem to get enough even though I have a day job.”
Jenkins has been part of the national organization, the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) for some time. When she heard that they were launching a book series to reflect on 100 years of women’s voting rights, she knew she had something to offer.
Her book, “Exploring Women’s Suffrage through 50 Historic Treasures,” showcases historical objects that represent the milestones, people, and legacy of the long campaign for women’s voting rights.
“I like to think of it as a museum catalog for a whole bunch of museums,” Jenkins said. “It’s 50 historic objects, letters, pieces of public art or pieces of historic architecture; each one has kind of a small story about how it’s related to suffrage. Together it gives you a national overview of what was happening in that fight for women to get the right to vote here in our country.”
The 2003 Heritage graduate will return to her hometown on Sept. 19 as the Homer Community Library hosts a book signing and Q&A event that begins at 1 p.m. Cindy Happ, Homer Community Library board member, said she was thrilled to see the woman she used to babysit write a book on such an important topic.
“I know her family, and just think the most of them,” Happ said. “They’re just the greatest group of people you’ve ever met. And so, when I saw that Jessica had written this book, I was thrilled. I just couldn’t believe it and I just wanted to promote her and the book.
“It’s great that someone from our little town can go do big things like this.”
“Exploring Women’s Suffrage through 50 Historic Treasures” will be available for purchase on the day of the event. People can also purchase copies in advance on Rowman & Littlefield’s website.
While 1920 is a marker for women’s voting rights, Jenkins said that it was neither the beginning or the end of action or conversation.
“It really is just one marker on the much longer trajectory of women in our nation, working to achieve equality in our country and looking for full citizenship equal with other citizens of our nation,” Jenkins said. “That is still a trajectory that’s still happening today.
“Having the right to vote was one of the most crucial ways for women to be able to advocate for themselves and citizenship rights, human rights, and just rights in general.”
Jenkins said that even though there are rights granted by the Constitution and subsequent amendments, there are still barriers to people being able to vote.
“So for me this conversation about voting rights is absolutely still on point and something that needs to happen,” she said. “That’s not something that’s done it’s still a journey. It’s still ongoing.”
The last section of Jenkin’s work examines the ripple effect of the 19th amendment, including the Equal Right Amendment, which was just recently ratified by 38 states. On February 13, 2020, the House of Representatives passed a resolution that would repeal the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.
The measure currently sits at the hand of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who has not brought forth the amendment-deadline resolution’s progress.
“It’s absolutely something that’s actively happening,” Jenkins said. “In the book I talk a lot about looking at things that are happening around us, and it doesn’t matter what political party you are.
“We have so many women who are getting involved in politics on the entire political spectrum,” she said. “Seeing women really wanting to get involved in that way for a variety of things.
“To me, it’s kind of a humanizing thing about history where you can look at something that happened in the past. But if you really pay attention to the ramifications of it, most of that still have ripple effects going out into society today.”
Jenkins said that she is honored to come home to Homer in order to stay connected with her parents and siblings, who still live in the area, but to also have a conversation with those she grew up with about important topics.
“it’s important to have these conversations anywhere,” she said. “I live in Indianapolis which has a much larger population than Homer, but it’s important to talk about these things, no matter where you are. It doesn’t matter how small the town or how big or how conservative or how liberal, there are still meaningful conversations that are important for everybody to have
“Honestly, if you sit around the table and you talk, you find that you have a lot more in common than you may have initially thought.”
Happ believes that Jenkins’ willingness to bring what she’s learned from her research back to Homer will bring a valuable perspective.
“It’s great that she can represent that for us and bring what she has learned through research and living her life as a young woman, too, to show our town: just the way things are as she sees them. She can teach us all a little bit through her book, too, I think we need to become more aware.”
