The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem Announces Unsung Suffragist Book Club

Marking the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, and acknowledging that not all American women secured the right to vote in 1920, The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem and MUSE Winston-Salem invite readers to join the Unsung Suffragists Book Club for a community reading experience of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All, by Martha S. Jones.

Recently released by Basic Books, Vanguard is described as an “epic history of African American women’s pursuit of political power,” which chronicles the role of Black women in fighting to secure the ballot for all Americans from the early republic through the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Professor Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. She is a legal and cultural historian whose work examines how black Americans have shaped the story of American democracy.

The Unsung Suffragists Book Club is open to any interested reader. Participants should acquire and read the book on their own. Beginning the week of October 12, registered participants can participate in one of several moderated small-group discussions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all discussions will be held virtually via Zoom. Then on October 21 at 4:00 PM, Dr. Jones will join for a virtual author’s event, offering brief remarks and engaging in a discussion with readers.

To participate, readers must register at wsfoundation.org/wf-book-club, to sign up for a discussion session and register to receive an access link for the October 21 virtual author event. Participants are encouraged to order the book online through Bookmarks using discount code 20VANGUARD for 20% off. Bookmarks also provides curbside pickup. To maximize public access, a limited number of copies have been ordered for the following Forsyth County Public Library locations: Carver School Road, Central, and Southside branches.

MUSE Winston-Salem and The Women’s Fund of Winston-Salem are partnering as sponsors of the Unsung Suffragists Book Club. The Women’s Fund engages our community to build economic security for women and girls in Forsyth County through women’s philanthropy, grantmaking, and advocacy. MUSE Winston-Salem’s mission is to connect, enrich, and enlarge the community through history, storytelling, and informed, balanced perspective that leads to acceptance, understanding, and belonging.

For more information, contact Shamika Starke, Strategic Initiatives Manager at The Winston-Salem Foundation at sstarke@wsfoundation.org or (336) 604-5160.