Fellowship of Faiths Page in the Class of 1964 Llamarada
The yearbook page for the Fellowship of Faiths (FOF) also discusses the efforts of the Civil Actions Group, an unofficial sub-group of the large interfaith organization on campus at the time. Both groups worked together on a tutorial program in Holyoke, and the FOF held a Campus Conference on Civil Rights, focussing on the subtle nature of racial discrimination in the North. Whitney Young, pictured at the bottom of the page on the left, was the executive director of the National Urban League, a community-based organization dedicated to ending racial discrimination, gave a lecture at the conference. Mount Holyoke and Amherst Students in Washington D.C., May 15, 1964 A group of Mount Holyoke and Amherst students went to Washington D.C. to lobby for the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill. In this photo, they are shown with Senator Keating, a member of the House of Representatives. Keating was influential in enacting the Civil Rights Act of 1957.<br /><br /><a href="https://compass.fivecolleges.edu/object/mtholyoke:63916" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Explore the full yearbook text here.</a>
Mount Holyoke College
1964
Yearbook
rg34-s03-y1964
Florence Tuttle's Sash and Louise Dunbar's Dress
<strong>Handmade Votes for Women Sash, 1916</strong> <br />This sash belonged to Florence Tuttle ‘16, an active member of the National College Equal Suffrage League serving in multiple leadership roles. She and two classmates handcrafted their sashes for Suffrage Day and marched in a band. Florence (left in band photo) and her sash are clearly visible because of the unique hand-cut letters.<br /><br /><strong>Louise Dunbar dress, ca. 1912</strong> <br />This cotton batiste dress belonged to Louise Dunbar ‘16, President of the Equal Suffrage League. It was likely worn for a high school graduation before her time at Mount Holyoke, though it would have been similar to dresses she wore for special occasions at college.<br /><br /><strong>Image Description</strong>: A mannequin angled slightly to the right wears an ecru cotton dress and a “Votes For Women” sash. The dress has a high square neck and elbow-length sleeves, both trimmed with lace. This lace continues vertically down the bodice with pintucking along the sides and narrows at a high waist with two lace rosettes. The lace is continued down the skirt with two decorative strips attached at the waist; they end above the knee in decorative tassels. The white sash is pinned diagonally at the right shoulder and left hip with black paper letters spelling “Votes For Women.” The letters are hand-cut and obviously imperfect. The sash is slightly creased between “For” and “Women” and the paper ‘W’ is beginning to pull up from the sash in some places where it was folded. <br /><br />In another photograph, three students wear triangular paper hats, sweaters over white dresses, and “Votes For Women” sashes pinned across their chests. They are in the midst of marching outdoors — a brick building and trees are visible in the background. The student on the right marches slightly ahead wearing a drum harness with drumsticks in either hand; she smiles at the camera. The other two students at left and center walk slightly behind holding small bugles to their lips. The student in the center looks ahead as Florence, on the far left, squints at the camera. Her sash is identifiable as the one on display because of the matching letters. There seems to be another dress-clad figure behind Florence: only an elbow is visible.<br /><br />An additional photograph depicts Louise Dunbar wearing the dress circa. 1912. Her hair is loosely pulled back and seems to be tied with a very large white bow. In addition to the dress, she wears a pair of white slippers, white stockings, elbow-length white gloves, and a bracelet on her left wrist. In her gloved hands she holds either end of a closed hand fan below her waist. A long satin ribbon trails from the end of the fan to the ankle-length hem of her dress. The dress is evidently the same as the one on the mannequin, albeit in better condition.
Florence Tuttle
MHC Archives
c. 1912, 1916
Cotton, paper; cotton
case03_votes_001, case02_votes_006
Why Women Should Vote, Alice Stone Blackwell, 1904
Alice Stone Blackwell was a prominent feminist, suffragist, and journalist during her lifetime. In this pamphlet published by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Blackwell outlines 16 reasons why women should be granted the right to vote. Many of her arguments focus on how women’s suffrage would improve women’s lives as well as other areas of society.
Alice Stone Blackwell
MHC Archives
National American Woman Suffrage Association
1904
Leaflet
case04_votes_001
Pro-Suffrage Flyers, May 1906
Distributed by the National American Woman Suffrage Association in 1916, these flyers, originally sized 5” x 7”, were created to spread awareness for the cause in a convenient handheld size. They contained information about the main tenets of the suffrage movement, the states in which women had full or partial suffrage, and rebuttals against anti-suffrage arguments.
MHC Archives
National Woman Suffrage Publishing Company, Inc.
Paper
votes_additional_03, votes_additional_04, votes_additional_05, votes_additional_06
Votes for Women Valentine, 1916
<p>Suffragists used valentines and other holidays to spread their message to as many men as they could, since men would ultimately be the ones to write and pass a voting rights amendment. February 14th would later become a significant day for suffragists because the League of Women Voters was founded on that day in 1920.<br /><br /><strong>Image Description</strong>: <span style="font-weight:400;">An illustration of a cherubic little girl dressed in a blue dress with red polka dots looks up from under her lashes. She holds the wooden handle of a cube-shaped sign in two chubby fists and braces it against her left shoulder. On the sign’s two visible panels is written “Votes for Women” and “Vote for me for a Valentine” in red text, with a heart below the latter. Her large white bonnet tied with a yellow ribbon masks the lower portion of the sign. Her torso is angled slightly toward the viewer but her feet, in black Mary Jane shoes and white socks, point left, as if she is in the midst of marching. </span></p>
MHC Archives
1916
Paper
Valentine
votes_additional_01
Students Dressed as Political Candidates, ca. 1916
Before 1920, Mount Holyoke students held mock campaigns and elections in which they dressed up as the presidential candidates of that election year. These photos show students dressed as various figures from the 1916 national election including Woodrow Wilson and Charles Evans Hughes, as well as a donkey and an elephant to represent the Democrat and Republican parties.<br /><br /><strong>Image Description</strong>: Two figures stand in the corner of a room; lace curtains and a framed picture are visible in the background. The figure on the left wears a full-body elephant costume comprised of an elaborate mask and a baggy jumpsuit. The mask has large flappy ears that fall to the shoulder. From the center of the mask protrude two white tusks and a long trunk which curls at the end. The tip of the trunk rests against the figure’s hands, folded at waist-height. On the right is a figure, presumably a student, clad in a full tuxedo. They have short curly hair and round features above a white collared shirt and black bowtie. Their right hand is tucked into the crook of the elephant’s elbow, and they hold a bowler hat and a long object - perhaps a cane - in the other.<br /><br />The next picture is taken in the same corner, with the lace curtains and a framed photograph visible. Two students stand slightly off-center, with another kneeling at their feet. The students standing are both dressed as men in suits and tophats, with firm stances and their hands at their sides. The student on the left wears a beard, a cravat, and a black suit open over a white shirt. The student on the left wears a collared white shirt and a black jacket buttons over it. They both look upward into the distance; the glasses of the student on the right glint in the light and obscures the right eye. The student kneeling in the foreground wears a white gown and a long, buttoned robe with a dark collar. Upon her head is a realistic donkey mask, apparently rubber, with a long, detailed face and tall ears. It appears to be of a higher quality than the presumably handmade elephant costume. The student’s arms are folded and the hands disappear, either under the nose of the mask or into the mask itself.
MHC Archives
1916
Margaret Conrad, Class of 1917
Photograph
votes_additional_22, votes_additional_23
Equal Suffrage League Page in the Class of 1917 Llamarada
This yearbook page gives a brief history of the Mount Holyoke chapter of the National College Equal Suffrage League and details its activities. Through its open meetings, the League brought many important suffragists to speak on campus. Mentioned on this page are Dr. Anna Howard Shaw, who was the president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association from 1904 to 1915 and an advocate for non-militant tactics; Max Eastman, who was a male supporter of women’s suffrage and a prominent radical; and Mrs. Susan Walker Fitzgerald, the recording secretary for NAWSA who was later elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The membership numbers listed on this page show that more than a third of the student body belonged to the League, although this figure does not capture students who may have attended meetings without becoming official members.<br /><br /><a href="https://compass.fivecolleges.edu/object/mtholyoke:47841" title="1917 Llamarada">View the full 1917 <em>Llamarada</em> here.</a>
Mount Holyoke College
MHC Archives
1917
Yearbook
English
rg34-s03-y1917
Interview in The Mount Holyoke News, November 11, 1963
During the summer of 1963, Elizabeth Butters ‘66 spent eight weeks in rural North Carolina working in a voter education program organized by the American Friends Service Committee. Upon her return, she was interviewed by the school newspaper about her experience. While the author of the article describes the people of the area as being “apathetic,” Liz highlights the fear of economic repercussions that prevented many Black citizens from exercising their right to vote. Although she is the only student spotlighted in this article, there are records of other Mount Holyoke students travelling to the South and participating in similar initiatives during this period of Civil Rights activism.<br /><br /><a href="https://compass.fivecolleges.edu/object/mtholyoke:2774" title="Mount Holyoke News Nov. 1 1963">View the full newspaper here.</a>
MHC Archives
Mount Holyoke News
November 11, 1963
Elizabeth Butters
Newspaper
English
rg32-s01-19631101
“Actions’ Group Plans Service For Election Day,” The Mount Holyoke News, October 30, 1964
This article describes the Civil Actions Group’s Election Day initiatives in Springfield, as well as their long-term goals. Members of the group planned to raise “poll tax” money and babysit for voters—direct action that would impact the local community as well as people across the country. The money they received in the poll tax fundraiser would go to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, benefitting voters in Mississippi, which required its citizens to pay a fee of $2 (equivalent to about $16 in 2019) to register to vote. The Civil Actions Group had no membership list and required no formal commitment for going to Springfield each week, so it is hard to tell how many students participated, but, as stated in the article by co-chairman Roberta Aber ‘65, it offered “an opportunity for every girl to become involved in worthwhile community service.”<br /><br /><a href="https://compass.fivecolleges.edu/object/mtholyoke:2801" title="Mount Holyoke News Oct. 30, 1964">View the full newspaper here.</a>
MHC Archives
The <em>Mount Holyoke News</em>
October 30, 1964
Newspaper
English
rg32-s01-19641030
The Committee on Civil Rights Fundraising Letter, 1961
This letter shows that the Committee on Civil Rights worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in their fundraising efforts, specifically mentioning the group’s involvement in voter registration activism. Signed by the organizers of the group, it was sent to Mr. Ben L. Reid, who was an English professor at the college. A note in pencil indicates that he sent the Committee a $10 check (equivalent to about $85 in 2019) on November 11th, 1961. Their stated goal was to raise $800 (equivalent to about $6,000 in 2019).
Anne Martin
MHC Archives
November 2, 1961
Marion Fitch, Sandra Kenyon, Jean Mammon, Marilyn Kirk, Stephanie Krass
Paper
English
Letter
case03_votes_002
Formation of MHC Committee on Civil Rights, 1960
In April 1960, Louise DeCosta ‘62, Marion Fitch ‘62, Susan Heineman ‘60, Susan Higinbotham ‘62, and Anne Martin ‘62 wrote this letter to the administration of Mount Holyoke to declare the formation of the Mount Holyoke Committee on Civil Rights. The group’s main focus was collecting money to donate for the legal defenses of Black students who had been arrested during peaceful protests. In 1964, the Committee on Civil Rights encouraged students to participate in the nationwide Thanksgiving fast. The money that was saved on the meal was used to support African Americans who had lost their jobs or land due to their participation in civil rights activity. Within the first two weeks of its creation, the Committee on Civil Rights raised $750 (equivalent to about $6,500 in 2019) from students, faculty, and residents of Holyoke.
Louise DeCosta, Marion Fitch, Susan Heineman, Susan Higinbotham, Anne Martin
MHC Archives
Paper
English
Letter
case03_votes_003
Mount Holyoke Students Wearing ‘Votes for Women’ Sashes, 1916
Florence Tuttle ‘16 (left), Dorothy Phelps ‘18 (center), and Helen McConkey ‘18 (right) formed a band of trumpets and drums on Suffrage Day May 9th, 1916. The three students wear ‘Votes for Women’ sashes, one of which is featured in this exhibition. As a senior, Florence was the vice president of the National College Equal Suffrage League at Mount Holyoke. When this photo was taken in 1916, the group had over 300 members on campus.<br /><br /><strong>Image Description</strong>: <span style="font-weight:400;">Three students wear triangular paper hats, sweaters over white dresses, and “Votes For Women” sashes pinned across their chests. They are in the midst of marching outdoors — a brick building and trees are visible in the background. The student on the right marches slightly ahead wearing a drum harness with drumsticks in either hand; she smiles at the camera. The other two students at left and center walk slightly behind holding small bugles to their lips. The student in the center looks ahead as Florence, on the far left, squints at the camera. Her sash is identifiable as the one on display because of the matching letters. There seems to be another dress-clad figure behind Florence: only an elbow is visible.</span>
Louise Dunbar
MHC Archives
1916
Florence Tuttle, Dorothy Phelps, Helen McConkey
Photograph
case03_votes_001
Constitution for the Mount Holyoke Chapter of the National College Equal Suffrage League, 1911
During the spring of 1911, Mount Holyoke students established a chapter of the National College Equal Suffrage League on campus. Slava Balanbanoff x’13, the first secretary-treasurer, hand-copied and signed the group’s constitution, which set up procedures for election of officers and delegates to the national council, specified eligibility requirements for membership to the chapter, and outlined a mission statement. Faculty and students were eligible for membership, provided that they paid a fee of 25¢ (equivalent to about $6 in 2019). The purpose of the club was “to promote equal suffrage sentiment among college women and men.”
National College Equal Suffrage League
MHC Archives
1911
Slava Balanbanoff
Paper, pencil
English
Constitution
case03_votes_004
Votes for Women Pins, ca. 1914-1918
These Votes for Women pins are from the memory books of Margaret Niles ‘14 (bottom right), Madeline Wayne ‘15 (bottom left), and Ruth Sonn ‘18 (top center). The phrase “Votes for Women” was a common slogan used on suffrage ephemera and was often printed on objects such as postcards, pamphlets, and ribbons in addition to pins. Suffrage pins were often worn to show support for the cause—Ruth’s pin was displayed on her academic hood at her commencement ceremony.<br /><br /><strong>Image Description</strong>: Three pinback buttons are arranged in a triangle. The top center pin has a brassy-gold background and reads “VOTES FOR WOMEN” in bold black text. “FOR” is centered in a slightly smaller font, while “VOTES” and “WOMEN” wrap around the top and bottom of the pin. The two bottom pins have very similar designs: a circular white background surrounded by a ring of color. “VOTES FOR WOMEN” is centered in the middle of each pin; six equidistant stars surround the text. The buttons are distinct in their font and color schemes. The bottom left pin has glittering gold accents and slightly rounded, modernist font. The outer gold ring is slightly thicker than the other, and the stars are just slightly larger. The bottom right pin’s text is in a square, serifed bright red font. The six stars around the text and the ring of color at the edge of the button’s face are both a deep royal blue. Altogether, the color scheme is reminiscent of the American flag.
MHC Archives
1914-1918
Pinback buttons
case00_votes_005, case00_votes_003, case00_votes_007
Barbara Smith, Class of 1969, Interview Transcript, 2001
In these excerpts from Tiffany McClain’s ‘01 oral history project, Barbara Smith ‘69 discusses what it was like being a Black student at Mount Holyoke in the 1960s. Smith describes racist assumptions from professors about her academic ability as “violations to the human spirit.” She notes some positive changes that occurred during her sophomore year: the number of Black students at Mount Holyoke doubled, which led to the formation of the Afro-Am Society. This change allowed them to create a space of their own, but did not stop the racist attitudes of white students, faculty, administration, and Mount Holyoke as an institution. With the creation of the Afro-Am Society and rally behind a Black cultural center, the Mount Holyoke administration noted that they believed the students were separated from the rest of the campus. Smith described these actions as necessary— “to try to build some kind of space where we could feel safe, not hated, not looked down upon.”
In 1968, Smith attended the Democratic Convention in Chicago in which she describes the violence protesters faced at the hands of the police. Many activists from groups such as the Students for a Democratic Society and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee were present at the Convention to protest the Vietnam War. Also in 1968, Smith was able to participate in a national election for the first time, in which she voted for Eldridge Cleaver, a member of the Black Panther Party who was running under the Peace and Freedom ticket. She believed voting to be a “duty to exercise the franchise no matter what” she thought “about the lack of choices.”
Tiffany McClain, Class of 2001
MHC Archives
2001
Barbara Smith, Class of 1969
Text
English
Interview transcript
case05_votes_005