Community leaders, activists, and scholars discuss the legacy of women’s right to vote in Oregon and the nation, continuing barriers to women’s equality, and social justice activism.
Scroll through the interviews below, or click on a name here to go to a particular interview:
Aislinn Addington Teresa Alonso León Eliza Canty-Jones Kathy Cassity Jan Dilg Natalia Fernández Lisa Gaines Michael Helquist Cecelia Koontz Linda Long Priscilla Wold Longfield Judy Margles Ella Morton Barbara Roberts Linda Tamura Jackie Winters
In Spring Term 2019, Jacob McMurrin, Brittany Miller, and Bella Magdaleno interviewed Dr. Aislinn Addington. Dr. Addington is the director of Abby’s House at Western Oregon University, a center for equity and gender justice. Although born and raised in Montana, she completed her undergraduate degree at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, double-majoring in Sociology and Political Science. She continued her education getting her PhD in Sociology at the University of Kansas. She also completed her graduate certificate in Women Gender and Sexuality Studies. Throughout her time at school, she was very passionate about gender justice work and was involved in a women’s center at her university. During graduate school, she worked at a direct service emergency call line that was community-based where she learned her strengths are in direct service. When she completed her degree, she moved from Kansas, bringing her amazing rescue dog to Oregon for the Abby’s House director position. Today she spends her time advocating for women not just through her work, but she also hosts a podcast with her brother, who is a filmmaker, where together they discuss women in film. Their podcast is called “The Contenders.” Dr. Aislinn Addington is an amazing woman who understands the importance of gender justice and inspires all to fight for what is right. As a whole, Dr Addington believes that voting has an important role in shaping the nation and is the right and responsibility of all people.
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In Spring Term 2019, Alexandra Bell and Lane Meeuwsen in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Women in Oregon History class at Western Oregon University interviewed Ms. Janice Dilg about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Ms. Dilg is the owner of HistoryBuilt based in Portland, Oregon. She has an MA in history from Portland State University, with her research pertaining primarily to Pacific Northwest women and labor history. Ms. Dilg speaks about woman suffrage as a mechanism of social change and reform. She explains that suffrage empowered women, and later helped other minorities in social movements. Ms. Dilg also emphasizes that we must continue to fight for the rights of women and minorities because they are not guaranteed forever.
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In Spring Term 2019, Andres Alvarez and Nick Sieber in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Women in Oregon History class at Western Oregon University interviewed Ms. Natalia Fernández about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Ms. Fernández is Curator and Archivist of the Oregon Multicultural Archives and OSU Queer Archives. She was also the recipient of the 2017 “I Love My Librarian Award” a national public service honor. Ms. Fernández spoke about the importance of understanding how our votes are not just for ourselves but for our communities, and the more we recognize the accomplishments of women involved in the suffrage movement, the more empowered our communities will be.
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In Spring Term 2019, Claire Davis and Chloe Miller in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Women in Oregon History class at Western Oregon University interviewed Dr. Lisa Gaines about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Dr. Gaines is the Director of the Institute for Natural Resources at Oregon State University in Corvallis. She works to build partnerships with researchers and organizations across Oregon and the greater Pacific Northwest to unify science and policy to the natural resource and environmental challenges we face in our society. As a mother of two girls Dr. Gaines discusses the importance of teaching our children the impact of voting, and the work Oregon can still do to make voting even more accessible. Dr. Gaines reflects on our past and places importance on the future of voting, by educating and listening to our future generations.
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In Spring Term 2019, Emmett Fresh and Mackenzie Ratliff in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Women in Oregon History class at Western Oregon University interviewed Mayor Cecelia Koontz about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. She has a long-standing record of service with the Monmouth community, as she was a member of the Monmouth Economic Development Commission from 2008-2010, a councilor for the Monmouth City Council from 2010-2014, a council liaison on the Senior Center Advisory Board for the Monmouth Public Library Board, the Director of Finance and Operations for Central School District from 2012 to present, the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees at Western Oregon University from 2014 to present, and the current Mayor of Monmouth. Mayor Cecelia Koontz is the first ever elected female Mayor of Monmouth, elected in 2018. She spoke about the importance of accessibility to voting and how this holds elected officials, herself included, accountable.
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In Spring Term 2019, Hudson Kennedy, Nicole Moore, and Damon Solomos in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Women in Oregon History class at Western Oregon University interviewed Ms. Linda Long about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Linda Long is the Curator of Manuscripts and a Senior Librarian at the University of Oregon’s Knight Library. A researcher and archivist, she has been published in many archival and history journals. She earned a BA in History at Seattle University, earned a Masters in Archives Administration and History from Case Western University, and earned a second Masters in Librarianship from Brigham Young University. In her view the ability to vote gives people a voice to determine their own future. She also discusses how women continued to be active in promoting legislation for social justice after achieving the vote.
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In Spring Term 2019, Colin Gilbert, Katrina Jacobs, and Amber Young in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Women in Oregon History class at Western Oregon University interviewed Ms. Priscilla Wold Longfield about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Ms. Longfield is the grand niece of 5 Wold sisters, Emma who became one of the first women to try cases before the US Supreme Court, Jean, Gaeta, Cora and Clara Wold all of whom were involved in the Women’s Suffrage movement both in Oregon and at the national level. She is a member of the OHSU Foundation Board of Trustees and a board member of the Oregon Symphony Association. She is an honored member of the Women’s Committee at Reed College and on the Marquam Hill Steering Committee at OHSU. She’s also been involved as a volunteer on the Steering Committee for Medical Teams International auction event. Longfield trained as an elementary school teacher before transitioning into business. In our interview Ms. Longfield talks about how voting is the easiest and most effective way to bring change and discusses gender discrimination that denied women the right to vote. Today more women are running for office and women can make sure that a minority of voters don’t dictate to the majority. Her responses emphasize the importance of voting and how women have impacted the right since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment.
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In Spring Term 2019, Tori Cook, Alyssa Hendricks and JD Queja in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Women in Oregon History class at Western Oregon University interviewed Ms. Ella Morton about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Ms. Morton is an advocate for voter registration and is active in Corvallis High School’s Young Democratic Socialists Club. In her responses Ms. Morton discusses the importance of voter participation as well as positive progression of women in her community.
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In Winter Term 2018, Carter Craig and Rebecca Tew in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University interviewed Representative Teresa Alonso León about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Representative Alonso León is a graduate of Western Oregon University and Portland State University. She was elected to represent House District 22 in November 2016 and is currently serving in her first term. House District 22 is composed of the communities of Woodburn, Gervais, and North Salem. Representative Alonso León spoke eloquently to the effects of empowering women to vote in our state and nation. Women have had an effect on all levels of politics and Representative Alonso León looks forward to women furthering their involvement by running for office and addressing other social problems.
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In Winter Term 2018, Rachel Bayly and Noah Johnson in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University interviewed Ms. Eliza Canty-Jones about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Ms. Canty-Jones is the Editor of the Oregon Historical Quarterly and Director of Community Engagement for the Oregon Historical Society. She views not only the right, but the ability to vote, as crucial to justice and equality in a society. She also points out voting inequalities of the past and present, and expresses the belief that more privileged citizen groups should use their power to be a voice for less privileged groups.
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In Winter Term 2018, Bella Magdaleno and Brianne Moodie in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University interviewed Dean Kathy Cassity about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Kathy Cassity is the Dean of Western Oregon University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Although born and raised in Seattle, she comes to us from Honolulu, Hawaii, and she has held her current position since August of 2017. Dean Cassity spoke about the importance of civic involvement in making positive change. She stressed inclusivity as a way to achieve meaningful reform.
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In Winter Term 2018, Desiree Root, a senior Gender Studies student and assistant in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University, interviewed Michael Helquist, author of Marie Equi: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions (Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 2105). In their discussions Root asked Mr. Helquist to discuss Dr. Marie Equi’s experiences in the suffrage movement and as a radicalized activist who would begin a sentence in San Quentin prison for speaking out against World War I less than two months after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Marie Equi (1872-1952) graduated from the University of Oregon Medical Department (now OHSU) in 1903 and advocated for women’s reproductive health and control, worker rights, and free speech. She and her partner Harriet Speckart adopted a daughter and raised her together, challenging cultural norms of heterosexuality at the time. As Mr. Helquist notes, “as a publicly, if not widely, known lesbian, Equi served as a role model for other outsiders to assert their place in public discourse and civic engagement.”
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In Winter Term 2018, Amanda Lehman and Sara Madden in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University interviewed Ms. Judy Margles about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Margles is the Director of the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. She connects historical events with current issues, placing voting within Jewish tradition and detailing Oregon women’s contributions to the movement. She also speaks to the energy of current social justice movements and the importance of using the vote to combat hate-based violence, discrimination, and inequality.
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In Winter Term 2018, Kristin Bewersdorff and Sierra Fresh in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University interviewed the Honorable Barbara Roberts about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Roberts served as a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1981 to 1985 and was House Majority Leader from 1983 to 1984. Oregon voters elected her Secretary of State in 1984 and she served in that post from 1985-1991. Roberts won election as Oregon’s Governor in 1990, the first woman to be elected to that office, and served from 1991 to 1995. Governor Roberts shares her views on the importance of voting as part of being an active citizen, and how women earned that right after many years of hard work. She also discusses the significant role of male allies and male voters in Oregon’s 1912 successful woman suffrage ballot measure, the barriers to voting many Oregon women faced in the years after 1912, and the importance of women running for elected office. Governor Roberts published her memoir Up the Capitol Steps: A Woman’s March to the Governorship with Oregon State University Press in 2011.
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In Winter Term 2018, Katelyn Rule and Morgan Williams in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University interviewed Professor Linda Tamura about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Professor Tamura is Professor Emerita at Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. She has spent many years researching the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon. Her many publications include The Hood River Issei: An Oral History of Japanese Settlers in Oregon’s Hood River Valley (University of Illinois, 1993) and Nisei Soldiers Break their Silence: Coming Home to Hood River (University of Washington, 2012). We are still working to build a nation that provides equal rights for everyone. It is important not to take for granted the rights we have gained and the stories of those people who were part of the struggle to achieve those rights. In our interview, Professor Tamura focuses on Japanese Americans and their struggle for U.S. citizenship during and after World War II, and shares some of their personal stories.
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In Winter Term 2018, Antonia Scholerman and Rachel Worley in Professor Kimberly Jensen’s Honors Colloquium at Western Oregon University interviewed Senator Jackie Winters about the Nineteenth Amendment centenary and the importance of the vote. Senator Winters was born in Topeka, Kansas, but later moved to Oregon where she and her family survived the Vanport Flood. While acting as Ombudsman for Governor Vic Atiyeh, she helped to form the Oregon Food Share Program. She worked with her family to open several restaurants and was elected to the Senate for the first time in 2002 after serving four years in the House. She was the Republican Leader in the Oregon State Senate until her death on May 29, 2019. In her interview, Senator Winters stressed the importance of political participation and inclusion.
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