Petaluma Museum celebrates women’s suffrage

When a group of local history buffs started planning how to mark the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, there was no way to predict that their Petaluma Museum exhibit would be forced to adapt to an unforeseen public health crisis.

But for co-curator Paula Freund, there’s a striking parallel between the conditions that forced the museum event into the digital realm, and the lives of the women activists it chronicles.

“What’s so fascinating is that the women’s suffrage movement, toward the end, was working during the 1918 flu pandemic,” she said. “They were working during this time to get their message out, and in a way, so are we.”

The Petaluma Museum’s virtual suffrage centennial exhibit kicked off last week, exploring Petaluma’s involvement in the movement to give women the right to vote and the Aug. 18, 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment.

The exhibit kicked off Aug. 26 with a livestreamed dedication to former Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and former Mayor Helen Putnam, presided by current Rep. Jared Huffman and Mayor Teresa Barrett.

It was the first in a handful of modified, virtual events taking place through the end of October, and the launch of what has been a significant change of course for the Petaluma Museum.

“It’s been a big leap for the museum in many ways to go digital for this exhibit,” said Clint Gilbert, President of the Petaluma Museum Association. “Now we’re also trying to bring our permanent collection online as well, and this exhibit is a way for us to dip our toes back in the water.”

With its doors shuttered, the museum’s revenue streams are paralyzed, now relying on its reserves and an anemic supply of grant funding to continue its operations.

As much of a hurdle the virtual exhibit has been for co-curators Freund and Katherine Rinehart, canceling the commemoration was never once entertained.

In one virtual event around the exhibit, Rinehart will give a visual tour of sites where suffragists gathered to learn about and plan for their involvement in two political campaigns focused on securing voting rights for California women in 1896 and 1911.

She will present the history and architecture of the suffrage sites, discuss her research strategies and share some discoveries made while assisting in the curation of the exhibit. The Petaluma Women’s Club sponsored talk is Sept. 15 at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom. Call 776-6055 or email info@villagenetworkofpetaluma.org for the free link.

In addition to sharing interesting artifacts and historical narratives, Freund felt that the exhibit could spotlight the broader theme of voting rights in America and uncover common misconceptions about what the 19th Amendment actually granted – and who it left out.

“One big thing about the ratification of the 19th Amendment is that we shouldn’t celebrate it,” Freund said. “It didn’t guarantee every woman the right to vote. It guaranteed that Congress couldn’t deny the right to vote on the basis of sex.”

Although the amendment gave many women the ability to cast a ballot, it did not give women of color, immigrants and women convicted of crimes voting rights.

Freund hopes the exhibit will not only educate, but also encourage people to exercise their right to vote and value the movements that culminated in expanded voting rights.

“Sometimes, when you think of the amendments, you don’t really get a sense that these were the results of massive movements that took a lot of people in a lot of places to work over time to make change,” said Barrett, the city’s fourth woman to hold the title of mayor. “People didn’t give up, and they fought for it, and we need to be aware of that.”

(Contact Kathryn Palmer at kathryn.palmer@arguscourier.com, on Twitter @KathrynPlmr.)