The Great Bend Public Library will host “The Long Road to Women’s Suffrage in Kansas,” a presentation and discussion by Diane Eickhoff, at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, September 21 at 10:30 a.m. Members of the community are invited to attend the free program, which is made possible by Humanities Kansas.

This program is open to everyone; no registration or library account is necessary to attend, said Michael Adamyk, head of marketing at the library. GBPL is located at 1409 Williams St. 

The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted women the right to vote, a right known as women’s suffrage, and was ratified on Aug. 18, 1920, ending almost a century of protest.

Kansas was historically a leader in women’s rights, and ratified the amendment on June 16, 1919.

Even so, the campaign for voting rights in Kansas required more than 50 years of determined effort as women suffered setbacks in three different statewide initiatives, Eickhoff notes. Her presentation will explore the courageous individuals who challenged the powerful interests opposed to electoral reform and explore other “firsts” that women achieved on the road to suffrage.

The presentation will last about 45 minutes and will be followed by a Q&A and discussion time.

Diane Eickhoff is an independent historian, writer and editor of education materials. Her most recent biography, “Clarina Nichols: Frontier Crusader for Women’s Rights,” is published by Quindaro Press. 

This program is presented by the Great Bend Public Library in conjunction with Humanities Kansas and the League of Women Voters in Great Bend. The library plans to host several events in 2020 to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of women’s voting rights in the United States, and this event is the first of that series. 

Humanities Kansas (humanitieskansas.org) is an independent non-profit spearheading a movement of ideas to empower the people of Kansas to strengthen their communities.