INSIDE THE HOUSE THAT HOPE BUILT
Photos courtesy of The Obama Foundation
By CHRISTOPHER POTTS
CHICAGO – Just inside the second-floor entry of the Barack Obama Presidential Center, near the section of the women’ s suffrage exhibit titled“ Votes for Women,” I overheard a little girl ask her mother a question.
“ What does this mean, Mommy?,” she said, pointing to the word“ Suffragists.” Her mother explained that women had not always had the right to vote— that it had come only recently. In fact, it was not until 1920, 144 years after the nation’ s Founding Fathers proclaimed that“ all men are created equal,” that a constitutional amendment gave women the right to vote.
Confused by her mother’ s answer, the girl asked:“ Why?” Her question seemed to suck the air from the room. Onlookers paused, bracing for an answer that could not be softened.
“ Because they didn’ t see us as human,” her mother said.
“ I’ m a human being!” the girl cried out.
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