One month before Election Day, voting rights groups will rally voters, channeling the 1917 Silent Sentinels—suffragists who picketed at the White House for women’s right to vote.
Pundits, journalists and voters all agree: The upcoming November 2024 election may decide the fate of the United States’ 250-year-experiment with democracy. Taking place exactly one month before Election Day on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, from 10 a.m. to noon, women and men of vision will take to the streets of their respective communities as Silent Sentinels to help galvanize the vote.
The History of Increasing Voter Participation
Volunteer organizers committed to encouraging and increasing voter participation found inspiration in the valiant activities of the 1917 Silent Sentinels—suffragists who picketed at the White House for women’s right to vote.
Throughout 1917, over 2,000 women silently picketed outside the White House gates for the right to vote. Many of them were arrested and sent to jail, where they suffered greatly. Some historians believe this unique direct action campaign helped turned the tide to support for women’s suffrage from President Woodrow Wilson, members of Congress and the public.
In 2020, over 150 women and several men in the greater Sacramento area also used the inspiration of the courageous pickets to promote the vote. They gathered on street corners in various neighborhoods, dressed in the purple, white and gold colors of the suffragists, and they silently held signs that said, “Vote.”
In 2022, before the midterm elections, the organizers repeated the Silent Sentinels action to encourage an increase in voter turnout. This time, groups in Maryland, Kentucky, Arizona and three cities in California joined the efforts.
Organizing for Oct. 5
The organizers of the Oct. 5, 2024, event know the upcoming election will be one of the most important of our lifetime, and that in many ways our commitment as a nation to democracy and individual freedoms is on the ballot. They are urging all those who can vote to vote, and if they are not registered, to get registered and vote. These active citizens believe that their presence and numbers at events like this in their respective communities will stress the importance and value of the vote and the critical need for everyone’s participation.
“Given the gravity of this November election for women’s rights, and for democracy itself, I hope this 2024 call to action spreads nationally,” said Heather Fargo, former Mayor of Sacramento, Calif., and president of the Capitol Women’s Campaign. The Silent Sentinels organizers partnered with the Capitol Women’s Campaign to call for actions in 2020 and before the midterm elections in 2022.
“As an organizer for the October 5 event, I believe this is an action my late aunt, the Rev. Doctor Pauli Murray, would strongly endorse,” said Rosita Stevens-Holsey, board member of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice. “Voting rights are an important component of our civil rights. As historians can attest, Pauli Murray believed civil rights are the hallmark of a thriving democracy.”
“People ask us why are we so passionate about doing this Silent Sentinels event,” said Diana Carpenter-Madoshi, co-chair of the Oct. 5 action. “It’s all about the vote and our freedoms. The bravery of the suffragists who were Silent Sentinels and women like Fannie Lou Hamer inspired me with their fight for the right to vote and I benefited by their brave sacrifices.”
Given the gravity of this November election for women’s rights, and for democracy itself, I hope this 2024 call to action spreads nationally.
Healther Fargo, president of the Capitol Women’s Campaign
The importance of every single vote is something people need to be reminded of.
- In 1920, Rep. Harry Burn (R-Tenn.) cast the deciding vote for the state to ratify the 19th Amendment. This crucial vote made Tennessee the 36th and final state to ratify the amendment, meaning that it was immediately added to the U.S. Constitution.
- In 1962, the governors of Maine, Rhode Island and North Dakota were all elected by an average of one vote per precinct.
- In 2008, Minnesota voters cast 2.9 million votes for senator in a race decided by as few as 200 votes (1/1000th of 1 percent).
There are many other instances of the value of one vote from school board elections, city councils and congressional races.
Muffy Francke, co-chair of the Oct. 5 action with Carpenter-Madoshi, emphasized, “We plan to be out there to remind people that it is our responsibility as members of this democracy to vote, that the hard-fought right to vote is something to treasure and protect. It’s not something to take lightly.” The Silent Sentinel committee is composed entirely of volunteers and is not affiliated with any political party.
As Carpenter-Madoshi emphasized, “We are calling on people throughout the nation to mobilize and organize events in their communities. We want them—all of us—to stand as a group for one or two hours at intersections in their community. There’s no need to engage in rhetoric with any passerby; just simply hold up a sign that says ‘Vote.’”
We have a video on YouTube on the October 5 Silent Sentinels that people can view and share. Contact us for more information at silentsentinels.oct5@gmail.com.
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