Although the ratification of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 26, 1920, was an important step in equal voting rights, the battle raged on for women of color.

It wasn’t until the 1965 Voting Rights Act that all American women (and men) were able to exercise their right to vote through the elimination of voter suppression devices such as whites-only primaries, poll taxes, and literacy tests.

>> To read more on the Black Suffragists from the National Park Service, click here.