Dr. Boozman's Check-up

Today marks the centennial anniversary of the formal adoption of the 19th Amendment into the U.S. Constitution. This landmark victory—which granted women the constitutional right to vote— was the culmination of more than 70 years of persistent and determined work by suffragists to ensure women enjoyed the same right as their male counterparts to cast ballots in elections and make their voices heard on questions of representation and public policy. Generations of women fought to achieve this milestone.

The women’s suffrage movement dates back to 1848 when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women’s rights convention in Stanton, New York. The fight for constitutional change flourished in the decades following, and women suffragists and advocates alike publicly demonstrated through protests, silent vigils and even hunger strikes to demand change. 

While women’s suffrage saw little progress at the federal level initially, efforts to modify state suffrage requirements progressed. Advancement at the state level is largely attributed to the development of women’s suffrage organizations and the influential work of their members. Two such groups formed in Arkansas: the Arkansas Women Suffrage Association in 1881 and the Political Equality League in 1911. Leaders of these two organizations tirelessly lobbied the Arkansas State Legislature for an equal suffrage law and eventually saw success in 1918 when women won the right to vote in Arkansas primary elections. However, the fight was not over.

In 1919, Congress passed the Susan B. Anthony amendment, which became the 19th amendment, pushing the bill to the states for ratification. In overwhelming support of women’s suffrage, Arkansas became the 12th state to ratify the amendment and other states quickly followed. 

Thirteen years later, Arkansas voters helped break the glass ceiling for women legislators when they elected Hattie Caraway to serve in the U.S. Senate. She became the first woman to win election to the Senate in 1932. Her portrait hangsoutside of the U.S. Senate chamber as a reminder of the trail she blazed for future generations of women.

As we celebrate 100 years of the ratification of the 19th amendment, we recognize the pioneers who championed women’s rights and those who continue to fight for opportunities granted by the American promise. 

Arkansas children struggling with hunger during this public health crisis will be getting additional support now that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved Arkansas’s operational plan for the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) program.

Created by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, the program provides assistance to families of children eligible for free or reduced-price school meals who have been unable to benefit from these programs while closures are in place.
Our agriculture community, trucking industry and grocers are doing incredible work to ensure that food and critical supplies remain in stock. This moment is presenting an enormous challenge, but they are rising to the occasion. Learn about how we can help do our part to help ease the stress they are under, which in turn, ensures that our neighbors in the community can get the food and supplies they need as well.
Americans are understandably on edge as more cases of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) appear in the U.S. and the death toll continues to rise around the globe. My colleagues and I understand this anxiety, and have come together to step up efforts to prevent the spread of the disease, treat those infected and support research to find a vaccine. However, it is important to maintain perspective as we address COVID-19, as misinformation will only create more panic over what is already an emergency situation.
Hong Kong, a bustling international business hub and one of the world’s most significant commercial ports, is often wrongly assumed to be under the full control of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Less than 25 years ago, Hong Kong was still a British colony. It was handed back to China under a policy known as “one country, two systems”—which suggests that while there is only one China, Hong Kong would retain its own economic and administrative systems. The arrangement allows for Hong Kong to function as a separate entity while the rest of mainland China is governed by the communist system administered by Beijing.

As a result, the citizens of Hong Kong enjoy many liberties denied to those of mainland China. For instance, citizens of Hong Kong have the right to assemble, the right to unfettered access to the internet and freedom of speech.

Those rights appear to be slipping away.