NEWS
From the Office of
Speaker Timothy W. Jones
110th District
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 8, 2014
CONTACT: Speaker Timothy W. Jones
(573) 751-0562
News Release—House Speaker Tim Jones to Induct Women’s Suffrage
Activist, Virginia Minor, into the Hall of Famous Missourians
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – House Speaker Tim Jones and the members of the Missouri House of Representatives will honor the activist who started the women’s suffrage movement in Missouri. Jones will induct Virginia Minor into the Hall of Famous Missourians on Wednesday, September 10th at 9 a.m. in the House Chamber of the Missouri State Capitol.
Minor is one of four Missourians selected for induction into the hall this year. Two were chosen by a public voting process put in place by the Speaker. Jones then selected two more individuals – Minor and Mel Hancock – based on the significant contributions they made to the state and the nation. Jones said the more he learned about Minor the more obvious it became that she deserved a spot alongside other famous Missourians such as Mark Twain and Susan Elizabeth Blow.
“Virginia Minor was a remarkable Missourian who helped lead the charge to enfranchise all women. She was a true champion for women’s rights and an inspiration to all who followed in her footsteps to work for suffrage,” said Jones, R-Eureka. “It is a true honor to be the Speaker who provides this remarkable woman with a place in the Hall of Famous Missourians.”
Minor was born in Virginia but moved to St. Louis and lived there until her passing in 1894. In 1867, she founded the Woman Suffrage Association of Missouri, which was the first organization in the world to make its exclusive aim that of enfranchising women. She is best remembered as the plaintiff in Minor v. Happersett – a United States Supreme Court case in which Minor unsuccessfully argued that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution gave women the right to vote.
During the induction ceremony, Speaker Jones will unveil a bronze bust of Minor created by sculptor Cynthia Hitschler. The bust will be placed alongside those of current members such as Laura Ingalls Wilder, Harry Truman and George Washington Carver, which are located in the third floor rotunda of the state Capitol. The ceremony will include remarks from Mary Mosley, Shirley Breeze and the emcee, Representative Sue Allen.
Who: House Speaker Tim Jones, Representative Sue Allen, Mary Mosley and Shirley Breeze
What: Induction ceremony and bust unveiling for Virginia Minor
Where: House Chamber in the State Capitol
When: 9 a.m., Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Following the induction ceremony, Speaker Jones and other ceremony participants will hold a brief press conference in the House Lounge.
