and in those several capacities, it's a pleasure for me to welcome all of you attending this symposium in person. as well as our audience on c-span to this second annual symposium on constitutional issues. this year, we examine the 15th amendment and invite a conversation as our program states on suffrage in light of the hopes and realities of american identity and governance. in many ways this university is the ideal venue for such a conversation. envisioned as a great national episcopal institution by a group of founding bishops in the 1850's, the university of the south by 1860 possessed more than 6,000 acres of land on the cumberland plateau in tennessee. it had an endowment half the size of harvard's. i often think with my regents about what that would mean for us today. we wouldn't be lamenting an 8% return. and saw itself, in that vision, with colleges of different sizes, schools of law and medicine and business and theology. saw itself indeed as america's first truly comprehensive private university a half generation ahead of johns hopkins and chicago and -- large crowd gathered for the dedication of the university cornerstone in october of 1860. what the founders possessed in vision, they utterly lacked in timing. within a month, abraham lincoln was elected president. secession and 4 years of war followed. every penny was lost and every building destroyed. the words of the familiar hymn describe the reality at war's end. not a stone was left on stone. all the nation's pride or throne went down to dust. but a new generation of founders chastened by war, cleansed from the state of pride, knowing firsthand how original sin can cause a world to fall, returned to the mountain and went to work so that the university could finally open its doors to eight students in september of 1868. now a college of 1700 undergraduates and a college of theology of 80 resident students. sewanee, over 150 years, the university of many different souths is now shaped by, learning from but neither denying nor attempting to retreat into its past is now the , university of the 21'st century south. that means many things. but it means especially a willingness to confront the toughest questions about ourselves and the region whose name we bear. inspired by the words of the poet william butler yeats, out of the quarrel with others we make rhetoric. out of the quarrel with ourselves poetry. , alan tate, one-time editor of the sewanee review, observed that by the early 20th century , southerners, in his words looked around and saw for the time, since at least 1830, that the yankees were not to blame for everything. the work of tate and a whole generation of writers, many with deep sewanee connections, the south's quarrel with itself imparted a profound and complex meaning to the experience of civil war. sin and love and fear, wrote william faulkner, are just sounds that people who have never sinned nor loved nor feared have for what they never had and cannot have until they forget the words. that quarrel and not just with that will, out of time may come let praise or condemnation. poetry. maybe not or perhaps, most important, understanding. that is the purpose of this university every day and especially, today. we will be hearing from panels of distinguished scholars, jurists, and general list there will be plenty of time for engagement and discussion and we invite your active participation in that part of the day. i think our participants in accepting our invitation and i think my colleagues, many of whom we will be hearing from later today as panel chairs. i want to call out one person in particular who is, perhaps appropriately, off doing important work behind the scenes of this conference. i want to recognize by name, a graduate of this university, a history major who has seamless and effortlessly made this all work. nearby?ots, are you if not, we applaud you. [applause] >> to why all of you for joining us. we look forward to an exciting and perhaps a provocative day. it is my pleasure to introduce my colleague from the department of politics who will chair our first panel. >> good morning. i am associate professor in the end chair of the department of politics and director of the prelaw program here. i thank you you for joining us here. it features gloria browne-marshall and michael carmen. gloria browne-marshall is an associate professor of constitutional law at john jay college of criminal justice at new york.niversity of she teaches classes in race, law, evidence, gender, and justice. ofraduate of the university missouri at columbia, she received a law degree and masters degree in government. she is a former civil rights attorney who has litigated cases for the southern poverty law center as well as the and aa cp. -- naacp. member of the supreme court of the united states and a fellow american bar association and has broken on race and constitution to both national and international audiences. she is the article of many articles on several books 16thding "race, law, and century america to the present." her forthcoming book is entitled "salem witch trials and the law ." gloria browne-marshall has been the recipient of several awards including an award for her work with civil rights in women's issues and the wiley college of women in excellence award. an award-winning playwright of seven plays, her most recent play examines marriage choices. she is a member of the dramatists guild, mystery writers of america, national association of black journalists, 10 american center press club.nal i ask you to please welcome our guests. [applause] professor browne-marshall: thank you professor mcardle for that introduction. thinking about the topic of the 15th amendment and because of by work, not just on my book "the voting rights were ," but because my research on black women and log, i was thinking of the suffragette and suffragettes:lack confronting opposition on all sides," first i would like you to take a little time to have a three-minute journey through history and this is a small film i created just to give you an idea of the journey black women have taken when it comes to their almost-400 year history in the united states. video] >> the journey of the african-american woman has fulfilled great promise and tragedy. accomplishments and betrayal. however, she has been able to ascend to the highest level of american life despite opposition based on both her race and her gender. how has she been able to become .- or not, executive, educator in medicine and the military, the cup on the street as well as the congressperson. she has been able to follow this courageous path because years ago, centuries ago, she discovered that the weapon being able to enslave ferc could also be the total she used for her freedom. the law. virginia, founded in 1607, group of 20 africans and of unknown, women from the angola region of africa and it was from those women that our story begins. women who had as part of their and --e queen, warrior, prevented slavery. she was defeated. however, the courage of her spirit, the fight for humanity, the need for personhood could be evidence despite all those who would not believe it. stayed within the african women. it is through that dna that the african-american women was able to fight for freedom in the 1600s and follow through with civil rights cases. decided in the highest court of our land. civil rights cases decided in fall the dishes of civil liberty, voting rights, housing, political participation. those fights for freedom in the courts. each and every one of them had at its core the african-american women fighting against great odds. people in the law and society were against her. she stood up for herself. supported by people in her community, she had in her heart the need for her existence come the need to fight for her family, her community. the story of the african-american woman's ascent to power is a centuries-long struggle filled with obstacles 1619-1969, we will show you the cases and fault a neat african-american woman's fight for power through the courts. [end video] professor browne-marshall: i want you to understand that despite all of that and the fact that black women vote at the greatest rate in this country, they vote in percentage is higher than white women, white men, any other group. yet, on may 20 9, 2017, as i was hadhing on julie reid, she on her show someone who had to tom perez,er democratic national committee chair titled "there's too much at stake to ignore black women." how is it in 2017 with this kind of voter participation, how is it that black women were still being ignored into their political power marginalized? welcome to the program ended with a clearly frustrated ms. williams and the person who was on the show to refute her claims arguing on behalf of the democratic party was a black male. so, when we look at this i want you to consider this dynamic and understand it is over 150 years old. confrontingmy talk segregation and sexism on all sides means that too often black are without the allies they deserve, there political power marginalized. yet, they have been able to do so much with so little. with take a step back. 1619. as was noted in film, and 1607 the jamestown colony was founded. the first eminent english settlement. it was dying. in case you do not know, jamestown was a swamp land then. -- they had gotten to the point of cannibalism. it was horrible. in 1619, 20 africans arrived. women and men. this was a year before the mayflower landed. the mayflower landed in 1620. we are here before the mayflower. within this group, we had rice up an african couple. marion into the johnson. marion antony johnson actually gained their freedom. perches land, and had white and black servants -- mary and anthony johnson. they purchased land. they had white and black servants. there is no problem with you taking notes. law is evidence-based and you should be able to find the evidence of what i say. during this time, we also had people who owned property. they wanted to, of course, extend their profit margin. how did they do this? by limiting the rights of the colony. in the as time went on, although property ownership was one of the major reasons why a person can vote, it was a requirement and the johnsons owned property. how would the world be different if things had just regressed from there? let's go forward. we have black women participating is best they can. certain rights were given to certain blacks but it was more of privileges. the first known black politician , who was elected constable of the new hampshire town of newmarket in 1768. 1768. when the constitution was ratified in 1787, states were given the power to determine their qualification for voting. that is under article one, section two. to this day, it states for the most part determined qualifications for voting. also under article one of the constitution, africans and 3/5 ofn were considered a person when it counted the number of representatives from each state but certain states to allow people to vote who were not in that traditional group of white males only who owned property. new jersey was one such state. at one time, new jersey allowed women and blacks to vote. it was taken away in 1807. this was because there was an influx of immigrants into the idea, even during that time, was to increase the political power of white americans in one way they could do that was by taking away the property provision and putting more requirements on people of african descent. by taking away the property provision that no longer requiring property ownership for voting, it allowed those poor people coming from western europe to be able to be counted voten those who could within the states. in new york, the debate for black men continued well after slavery ended in 1820 seven. prior to this, property ownership value that $250 was required by black men but not by way men. you see these types of discrepancy from state to state. were not always discrepancies based on race, for example there were discrepancies based on religion. certain jewish constituents and states could not vote or irish catholics. as a matter fact, the initial literacy test for irish had a test ofy course on the interpretation of the bible. the catholic version of the bible, you know they were not allowed to register to vote. as we go forward, we have women who are struggling for the right 19-28, 1848,n july the first women's right convention was held in seneca falls, new york. organized by two abolitionists. so you had to white women who are abolitionists and you also at black female abolitionists, blackmail evolutionist. lucretia mott and elizabeth stanton these i did had had enough. they wanted their right to vote. they organized this seneca falls convention. there's no record of any black women now attending this convention or even being invited to this convention. but a black male was present. frederick douglass. frederick douglass was a longtime advocate of women's right to vote and not only had he advertised the upcoming convention, but he spoke at the convention. however, this is very interesting, we have to wonder where was frederick douglass is did she not accompany him to this convention? we have from this convention 300 women meeting in seneca falls and they produce a declaration many ways it is similar to the declaration of independence but it is their declaration of sentiment and among those sentiments is demand for equality under law. black women sought inclusion in this new suffrage movement, believing there was a common cause to be found among them all . however, their reception range from toleration to some who actually rejected the presence of black women because although white women claimed there should be equality for all, as we know, the saying goes, some are more equal than others. at this point, they thought there was a hierarchy of equality and in this hierarchy of equality, black women should not be at the same level of white women in the suffrage movement. not all women felt this way but certainly some did. so this leads to sojourner truth. what i like to say about sojourner truth is that this amazing women who was born in 17 91 and slavery was an abolitionist, preacher. she brought three different lawsuits and she was just an amazing person. traveled across the country. preaching what she thought was the truth. she changed her name to sojourner truth to mark her journey and the fact that she was there to tell truth to power. that it is that this women's convention in 1851 that she speech. her why? the convention is racially segregated. she now speaks up to say to the weight women in the audience, that man --"let that man over there says women need to be held into carriages -- lifted over ditches and nobody ever helps me into carriages, over mud puddles, or place.e any other best and i am woman? look at me. look at my arms. i have plowed, planted, brought into barns. woman? -- ain't i a i can bear heat. woman? a borne five children and given them over to slavery. and when i cried out, nobody but jesus heard me. woman? a " parity, too.about those people arrived on the same boe, worked the same hours, same lash. the parity continues. the conflicts continued. in the dred scott case, we know in 1857 the u.s. supreme court ruled against dred scott in which he sued for his freedom. but it was not just the dred scott case, it was the dred and case.t scott both were litigants in this action, yet only he has recognize. -- it is recognized. we find this happens time and again, women are overshadowed by their men and for the most part, sit back and allow the men to take the limelight but let's make sure we set the record straight. the supreme court ruled against dred scott after he end. scott won their initial suit at the trial court level, the supreme court said that a black right. no a white man is bound to respect -- has no right a white man is bound to respect. there is only political privileges that can be taken away at any time. when the supreme court made this decision that read and harriet scott were not citizens and therefore could not bring an action in court, he then gave this cause of action not just local cause of action for st. louis, missouri, and for that family, but this became the law of the land for black men and women. aspite being here as early 1619 and others have said, even earlier north america, they were not considered citizens. the civil war followed. there is much more i could go over but we must understand that black women have been fighting for their rights in something called slave courts. like margaret garner who escaped, made her way on most across the ohio river but was captured and brought back -- but when she was captured she actually murdered her baby daughter. "beloved." basis for you have read that novel. she murdered her daughter rather than have another black woman raised in slavery. the issues of black women slavery, the type of ongoing rapes and the work they did in the field, as pointed out by sojourner truth, gives you an although black men in women were bearing the lash, -- there were also very special things happening with black women the black mend what suffered. not only were black women used as concubines, they were also used to produce more slaves. broke out, it war forced the issue of women's suffrage to the background. 1865,hen the war ended in white suffragettes renewed their debate but this time there was another issue. whether or not they should stand back and allow black men to receive their rights first and then follow suit or should they push for their own suffrage. there was such a debate among movement,suffragette that this split the organization into different factions. in 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery except as punishment for crime. abraham lincoln was asked, why not just have a law passed in congress? but he feared to any law would be overturned by the u.s. supreme court in that is why was necessary to amend the u.s. constitution and have the 13th amendment abolished slavery. section "except for punishment is a crime," that would lead to the system in which prisoners were leased out, male and female prisoners, in a way to retrieve the labor that was lost after slavery ended. in 1868, the 14th amendment give citizenship at birth, privileges and immunities, the equal protection clause, and the due process clause. how does this affect black women? well, in slavery, black women if you think about it were protected because their bodies were vital to slaveholders. she was not only working but she was producing product. chattel children needed for the enterprise. but when the 14th amendment give citizenship at birth, what to do consider that now she is producing citizens. her reproductive life is no longer of the value. harming theiewed as country because she is producing more unnecessary african-americans. that notgh this we see only does she become someone because she is no longer needed, what do you do with excess labor, but she is producing those people who are now going to threaten the population of white america and their white supremacy. in 1870, of course we have the ratification of the 15th amendment, which gives black men the right to vote or better yet, -- there areck men no privileges that would allow a person to be denied their right to vote. the eight of the citizens of the united states to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the united states or any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. this means they did not get their right to vote at they should not be denied their vote based on race. the year before the 15th amendment was ratified, there was a debate among the white suffragettes. thisrick douglas led debate. his argument was whether or not there should be the race first or the white female suffrage first. he argued for men to gain their right to vote before the white women. those white women who said they would see them back and allow the men to gain their right to on the heels of 1870 in the ratification of the 15th amendment, their rights would be recognized. maintained aglas loyalty to women's rights throughout his adult life and when his first wife who was black, died of a stroke in 1882, douglas married his white secretary. helen pitts. died february 20, 1895, but his last speech to show his dedication to the cause of women's suffrage was in washington dc to members of the national women's council. frederick douglass died of a heart attack at home while describing the women's conference to his wife helen. to show his deep dedication. but after the 15th amendment was white women certain were furious when they saw their rights were not forthcoming they decided to take matters into their own hands. virginia minor, a white suffragette in missouri decided to challenge the prohibition against women voting by suing the registrar of voting. she argued that as a citizen she should be guaranteed the right to vote under the 14th amendment. the court ruled in 1874 that citizenship did not convey the right to vote. all, as a citizen, she had the privileges and immunities however as pointed out before, had the authority to decide the qualifications for the right divided and if the state decided the women could vote, but in the case of missouri if they decided women cannot vote, then there was nothing she could do about it. another women's movement was taking place at this time as well. the temperance movement. because of the effects of the industrial revolution, the temperance movement was a movement that blamed the social ills in america on alcohol. it was decided that the consumption of alcohol was tearing apart the family. there is a women's christian temperance union photograph, if you have a chance to see it, where there holding a sign "lips that touch liquor shall not touch these." the temperance movement became a very powerful movement as well and they in certain instances would join with the suffragettes and if you think about the power. the political hour. the power to lobby. the power to sway. white, black, no woman had a right to vote. they did so much nationally but there was always this conflict even between the suffragettes and temperance movement of white women and the movement of black women who also had their own suffragettes movement. so the black suffragettes would have their convention. they would speak across the country and make their own case for their right to vote. black women fought men and white women for the right to be treated as ladies and this was a very important part of the black suffragettes movement to be seen as a lady. at this point, there were ladies trains.the and one case in particular was very important and that is the where, well before plessy versus ferguson, sets out the debate not just about public accommodation but about the treatment of black women. was one of the wealthiest women in louisiana. she was a real. she was educated in france. bequeathed she was to the wealthy, is second wealthiest creel family and later on they married. -- creole family and later on they married. --n the war came, josephine i wish i could spend more time discussing her because when i say what i'm going to say next i'm sure it is going to give you a joke. giantine was a slave -- a -- i am sure it is going to give you a jolt. slaveholder. a she was indeed a slaveholder, a creole in louisiana. she lost her husband, she lost a great deal of hoppity during the civil war. afterwards, alone, she still pride.r great she lost so much of her land due to heavy taxes. she was trying to do business, traveling on a steam ship. she bought a lady's ticket for first-class travel. just like the trains, the steamship had ladies cars on the train. ladies rooms. these ladies rooms were where the ladies were away from the men who were using harshly which, smoking cigars. they had their own facilities and everything. but black ladies did not have access to the ladies rooms normally. josephine bought a first-class ticket for the ladies room. when she arrived for the ladies section of the steamship, they would not let her enter. when she could not enter, they told her she had to go to the rough and ready section that was designated for black people, it was found that she said that it was horrible. all of the men and the women in the black section had to use the same facilities. they were treated badly. they sat on horrible wooden seats as opposed to what was available in the section for the white ladies. at this point, josephine decided to find a little section of the ship and there she sat throughout the day and a half trip from louisiana to mississippi, which is interstate commerce. under the commerce clause of article one, section a, the federal government regulates commerce among the several states. however, in this instance, when she sued because under federal law there is supposed to be no segregation on interstate commerce, she won at the trial state level. with her attorney, it is appeal to the u.s. supreme court and the case results in her loss. but not just a loss personally for her but a loss that would pave the way for placebo versus ferguson in 1896. why? because it was determined that of blacks and whites were put together on the steamship, there would be violence. whites would become so angry having to sit next to blacks that they would start to fight and there would be violence. in order to keep a mutiny from taking place, the captain had the right to segregate people on the ship. so this need to segregate, to maintain order, with something you see later in plessy versus ferguson. we have a black eye from the and every construction. ae segment -- we have backlash from the end of segregation. we have the mississippi plant. states across the country are starting to enact literacy tests . grandfather clauses which basically says if the grandfather of someone did not vote before 1865, then you could not vote. they instituted poll taxes. to be clear, there were people in said, well, was this just for was tor people? no, this keep black people from voting. at this point, blacks could not actually elect a personal the time but they could, blackmail voters. black maleoters -- voters. when the 15th amendment was ratified, it was a very important part of the electorate. there were black senators, black representatives. the first black senator was in 1870. locale blacks in government. they have enough power to change the outcome of an election, even if they could not get their particular candidate and office. --have from james campbell governor of the state and mississippi, this quote "there is no use to equip gaydar lie about the matter. mississippi's constitutional convention was held for no other purpose but to eliminate the end-word from politics. not the ignorance. thethe end-word -- n-word."homer versus ferguson , the united states court decide had no rightessy to sit in the car he wanted to, he was only to sit in the car designated for people of african descent. with plessy versus ferguson in 1896, separate but equal therine is now the law of land. to give you an idea of how this affected the country politically, the black community, in louisiana the site of the plessy versus ferguson case, there were 130,000 black registered voters in 1896, the year of the decision. are less than 6000. so from 130000 and 8096 to less than 6000 black registered voters in 1900 was the affective plessy versus ferguson. it was open season on black men who wanted to vote. there was also at this time a tension between the black suffragettes and the white suffragettes and white women of the temperance movement and this was over lynching. these myth was that black men women and thatte lynching was the appropriate response. lynching is not just murder, lynching is a heinous act where people were burned alive, hunger, castrated, and burned alive, hunger,d castrated, and pieces of their body were sold off. postcards were made at the site of the lynching. send as thought to message to black men not to touch when women. ida b wells found in her studies that in most cases of lynching, there were no women involved at all. it was a dispute of her property, wages, it was the idea that the black men would not state in place. there were also women who were lynched. so this idea of lynching as just a reaction, even though it was not the correct reaction, and but a reaction to the rape of white women is untrue and a myth that ida b wells found. however, the head of the temperance women of white suffragettes felt that in order for them to have more political power for the boat they needed the south. that meant they could not oppose lynching. so these northern white suffragettes reached down to the southern women and in order to draw them in, decided they would say nothing about lynching. tensions intensified, black suffragettes found some white suffragettes allies and white women and braced the common cause of voting, even inviting one or two black suffragettes to speak at conventions. undaunted, black suffragettes continued their own movement, created women's clubs and 1892, the colored women's league, later the nationalization did of colored women was formed by a woman who would also go on to form the national association of university women when she was not allowed to become a member of the american university association of women. wrote "afragettes voice from the south by black woman from the south," and this was important because in many cases a black woman wanted to speak for herself, tell her own story. so "a voice from the south by black women from the south" was women's experiences through slavery and afterwards and .w. harper spoke nationally about black women's rights and the whole institution of black women. newspaper articles were written basing the right to vote on secular as well as religious grounds. what is in the black community, you might ask is she confronting sexism on all sides? there were black men who opposed black women's rights to vote. ifse black men thought that the black woman or any woman gained the right to vote it would take her out of the home. so, this question was put to and bookerashington t. washington, known as "the wizard" was the voice of black america during that time. w.e.b. dubois was also inclined to be called that and was one of the founders of the naacp but white americans listened closely to could to washington. in a lecture written on december 20 and published in the new york times, booker t. washington women, to the question of voting, dear sir, please find on thed my views question of women's suffrage movement. i'm in favor of every measure that would give to develop to the highest possible extent or moral, intellectual, and physical nature so that she may make her life as useful to herself and others as it is possible to make. at the present moment, see that this involves the privilege or the duty as you choose to look upon it, of voting. the influence of woman is already enormous in this country. she exerts not merely in homes but through the schools and in the press, a powerful and helpful influence over affairs. it is not clear to me that she would exercise any greater or more beneficent influence on the world than she does know if the duty of taking an active part in politics were imposed upon her. concerninguestion which, it seems to me, the women knows better than men and i am willing to leave it to their deliberate judgment." so we have, basically booker t. washington straddling the fence as he did with race relations. we know the famous convention speech where he said whites and blacks could be a separate as the figures on the hands. his drop in the bucket stand, that integration of the races was not something that should happen at this time. you see is also taking a very political stance in deciding that these women should not have the right to vote at this time. as we go forward, we see that same year in 1908, the year that black women have their first sorority. thea cap alpha sorority, first lack sorority for women -- foundedt black sorority on howard college campus. i'm proud to say i am an alpha sorority member. to the black men who resisted, the black women's response was to continue the fight with or without allies. their determination to vote was based in part on their own personal empowerment, however they also knew that their theggle would help define progress of their communities. they knew there was a need for housing in the black community. good schools. the end of jim crow laws. they needed to be able to vote if they were able to turn the tide in an election. that prosecutors would defend them in court and bring the case is necessary to end lynching. and, the meeting of the women's convention of the national "if ats convention in woman cannot vote, they should make it very uncomfortable for the men who have the ballots but do not know its value." so these black women are fighting. of their men are not the hind them, they are saying that's too bad. we're going to fight anyway for to book. some women, for example carrie chapman, as i said earlier, trying to find support for the northern women's coming together and fighting for the right to supremacy wille be strengthened, not weaken, by women's suffrage." carrie chapman, founder of the league of women voters. what is she sang? she is in, here's the way to balance out the vote. if more white women are for suffrage and gain the right to vote, they will have more political power than white men because many were disturbed by had the that black men right mode and they felt black men were subservient to them when white women did not have that right. in 1930, the suffragettes marched in front of the white house. but to gain southern support, alice forced the black suffragettes to march in the back. ida b wells decided she would not march in the back and she joined her illinois delegation. in 1919, after the red summer, the summer of race riots in which whites attacked black communities, destroyed businesses, destroyed homes, a leaderuffragettes and a in the women's convention of the national baptist convention denounced president woodrow ofson, who was an advocate the birth of a nation film and also had very harsh reprisals against him for arresting the suffragettes marching in washington, d.c., in front of the white house. her letter she sent to president wilson ended up leading to her being placed under police surveillance by the wilson administration. this black woman probably did not know she was under surveillance by his administration for her actions. the 19th amendment was passed in 1920. women gained the right to vote, finally. it states come the right of citizens in the united states to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the u.s. or any state on account of sex. this time, from 1880-1920 is called the women's era. in race relation, it is the lowest point because of the lynchings. because of the race riots and the oppression and discrimination. a black women soldiered on. registering to vote in record numbers in 1920. for example, in florida in 1920, it was the beginning of the record number of women registered to vote. their whiteered female counterparts but the backlash was immediate. to just follow up with this letter before i close. this letter is a letter written in december 1922 the end of lacey p/e. -- to the naacp. dear sir, i'm writing to tell you about a case of intimidation. i live in river junction and him registered in the ninth precinct for was asked to leave before i could vote. this was happening to many black women across the south who had registered to vote. in 1920, after gaining that right, they were turned away from the polls. on thursday, october 14, mr. al wilson and the deputy sheriff came to my house and told me i was the leader of a colored people in the effort to have colored women registered to vote. i and secretary of the club in my home, i was active in all things that tend to uplift my people. on the following thursday, october 21, dr. bf -- and the sheriff of the county, mr. gregory, came to me in further threatened me. men came in and as there had never been a lynching in that part, they thought it well i should leave at once to be sure of my life. so, these are the repercussions of black women gaining the right to vote. as they went forward, despite all of these challenges they found that their communities needed them. andout the black women their continued courage, we wonder where the community would be today despite the problems we see today. we know now that there are of course continued challenges, but we know that black women are at the forefront and i want to leave you with this. and, it is a quote from sojourner truth. when i think of the -- a woman on joy breeds program who complained of -- joy reed's program who complains of being marginalized despite all the work she was doing, i hear sojourner truth saying, and i quote "if women want rights more than they got, why don't they just take them and not be talking about it?" thank you. [applause] you're watching american history tv, 48 hours of history programming every weekend on c-span3 tv. follow us for information on our schedule and keep up with the latest history news. >> this weekend on the presidency, theater roosevelt. a portrayal before the lincoln group of the district of columbia. sixth residence life and times, including his unexpected ascension to the white house after william mckinley's assassination. you are as a preview. >> i sadly came to the residency through the graveyard. the assassination of president mckinley occurring. he was shot in buffalo, new york. to be by his side. after some days, his physicians assured me and members of the cabinet that the president would recuperate from his wounds. thecabinet felt it would do anxiety some good if i were to go on a planned vacation in the beloved adirondack mountains. i remember well. ted junior shot his first buck. it lived up to its name when i guided the apex and my showed me the bodies in the for 360 degrees around. or we can down and had lunch, the hunting guide was coming up the path rushing with what appeared to be a telegram. i knew it to be bad news. the telegram was from john hale, he who in his youth had been private secretary to lincoln, no mckinley's secretary of state. he informed me indeed that the president was dying in buffalo and i was needed there. terribly sad news to come to the presidency through the graveyard . unfortunately for president mckinley, the two physicians treating his wounds were both obstetricians, neither of whom had ever treated a gunshot wound in his practice. when i reached the hudson river that morning early on the 14th, and other telegram given to me again, this from john hey stating that president mckinley had died. i was now you're 26 present. -- president.falo i raced to buffalo and gave mike installments is to mrs. mckinley. and gave mike condolences to mrs. mckinley. it was only the fourth time the president of the oath of office the nation's capital. i took the oath of office without a bible at hand, stating briefly before hand that it would be my aim that the policies of the mckinley administration for peace, prosperity, and honor would remain entirely unbroken. announcer: watch the entire program on "the presidency," sunday night. this is american history tv, only on c-span3. >> ratified in 1870, the 15th amendment gave voting rights to african-american men. 1865ugh it was not until -- 1965 that the amendment became reality for most voters. next, from a symposium entitled "150 years of the 15th flawsent," discussing the of the 15th amendment and the exploitation and suppression of african-american voters by both the republican and democratic parties. the university of the south in sewanee, tennessee, hosted the daylong symposium. this is about 30 minutes. >> professor michael carmen is is --rrent -- klarman received his ba and ma from the university of pennsylvania. his jd from stanford law school went to the university of oxford, where he was a marshall scholar. after law school, professor klarman clerked for the honorable ruth bader ginsburg on the united states court of appeals for the d.c. circuit judge star he at various times served on the faculty of university of virginia school of

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