Activism

Voting rights. Civil Rights. Reproductive rights. A living wage. Equal access to education. Progress on these and every other major social issue of our time has its roots in the activism and advocacy of everyday people in the past. Did you know it took 100 years for the 19th Amendment to be ratified into the Constitution? One hundred years of American women organizing, campaigning, marching, writing, speaking, protesting, and being jailed.

Read the Story Behind this Object

New York's 1912 Suffrage March demonstrated the large number of women willing to speak out for voting rights. At the head of the parade, a young Chinese woman, Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, rode horseback on the front lines and made a bold statement.

Collection Objects

Discover the stories behind these objects or explore more collections related to activism and advocacy.

  • Papier-mache version of the Statue of Liberty. Liberty is Latina and carries a cornucopia of tomatoes instead of a tablet. Instead of a torch, she holds a tomato aloft in her hand.
    Kat Rodriguez's Lady Liberty
  • Sylvia Rivera sits flanked by her partner Julia Murray (right) and activist Christina Hayworth at the Saturday Rally before New York’s Gay Pride Parade in 2000.
    A Lifelong Crusader for Trans Rights
  • Wedding dress with high collar, a jacket with long sleeves, and many ruffles.
    The Union of Two Native American Rights Activists
  • Wooden hatchet featuring art of the turtle, bluebird, rooster, and swallow.
    Fighting for Temperance with an Axe
  • Record that reads "Commodore: Classics in a Swing. 526-A. Strange Fruit. Billie Holiday and Her Orchestra. Piano Interlude by Sonny White."
    Billie Holiday Used Her Music to Remember Victims of Lynching
  • White political poster with black text. Text reads: "THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING A WOMAN ARTIST:/ Working without the pressure of success./ Not having to be in shows with men./ Having an escape from the art world in your 4 free-lance jobs." and more.
    Attacking Sexism and Racism in the Art World

Conversation Kit

  • Let's Talk! Queen Liliʻuokalani Conversation Kit

    PDF icon Queen Lili'uokalani Teaching and Discussion Guide

    Grades 6–12. Time: Variable (1–3 class periods). Aligned to CCSS and C3 standards.

    In this lesson plan, students will learn how the legacy of Queen Lili'uokalani, the Hawaiian Kingdom's only reigning queen and last monarch, continues to inspire activism efforts and social movements today.

Videos

  • In 1970, activist Angela Davis was charged with murder. A movement arose to free her, and her time in jail inspired her to work to change the prison system. Kemi, a student, talks with Kelly Elaine Navies, oral historian at our National Museum of African American History and Culture.

  • Lady Bird Johnson was a committed supporter of the Civil Rights Movement: from touring the country to speak against racism to refusing to stay in segregated hotels.

  • Mary Elliot, curator of American slavery at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, shares what Sojourner Truth means to her. Often overlooked, Sojourner Truth was enslaved for 35 years and went on to become a women's rights activist and abolitionist.

  • Taína Caragol, curator of Latino art and history at the National Portrait Gallery discusses Dolores Huerta, co-founder, with Cesar Chavez, of the United Farm Workers (UFW). Huerta was instrumental in achieving major legal protections and a better standard of living for farm workers. 

Playlist

Smithsonian American Women book cover.

Smithsonian American Women

Remarkable objects and stories of strength, ingenuity, and vision from the National Collection.

Smithsonian American Women book cover.
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