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Colorado’s women have long been trailblazers charting a way forward – from securing women’s voting rights decades before the rest of the country to pursuing economic justice, civil rights and leadership opportunities. 

Votes & Dreams: At the Ballot and Beyond explores how Colorado women achieved voting rights in 1893 – more than 25 years before the rest of the nation – and never stopped pushing for change. 

In these ways, Colorado women achieved what were once radical demands penned in the groundbreaking Declaration of Sentiments. Modeled after the Declaration of Independence, this document dared to dream of equal rights for women. Written by prominent activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton and signed by more than 100 participants at the first ever Woman’s Rights Convention in 1848 – the oldest known printing of the Declaration of Sentiments is in Denver for the first time, on loan from the Library of Congress.

As we look back on 250 years since the founding of the United States and 150 years since Colorado became a state, Votes & Dreams reflects on how women in the Centennial state have played a pivotal role in moving forward women’s rights both locally and nationally.

“When women can vote, our voices are realized. Voting empowers women to make choices and advocate for changes in our everyday lives. Colorado leads in this way as a state with one of the longest histories of women’s voting rights in our country,” said Center for Colorado Women’s History Director Susan Fries. “It’s striking how the demands and grievances made by women nearly 180 years ago in the Declaration of Sentiments remain relevant markers of progress today. Votes & Dreams celebrates the unique accomplishments of Colorado women and invites us to contemplate how far we’ve come, and where we’re headed.” 

Votes and Dreams tells the stories of women leaders who’ve inspired generations of visionaries, voters, and change-makers. These Colorado women got their hard-won right to vote, and kept on going – leading the country in the pursuit of economic justice, civil independence, leadership, and more. 

A fascinating mix of artifacts from the days of the suffrage movement through today, show what Colorado women were wearing, writing, and creating as they advocated for change, including:

• A rare first printing of the Declaration of Sentiments will be on display until July 6, after which the historic document will be returned to Washington DC and a contemporary printing will replace it in the exhibition.
• An original ballot from Colorado’s 1893 popular referendum on women’s suffrage – the same ballot the state’s men voted on to extend that right to women. 
• A remarkable letter sent by the national women’s suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony to prominent Colorado activist Ellis Meredith congratulating her on the successful inclusion of women in the state’s electorate.
• An outfit worn by a Colorado woman to the polls in the 1890s, and a ballot box wherein she might have cast her vote.
• A flapper dress worn during the decades after women secured their right to vote and began exploring their civil and social independence.
• A reproduction of an expressive mural of Guadalupe Briseño, who led a nearly year-long strike in the late-1960s with women workers at a floral plant as part of the Chicano rights movement known as El Movimiento.
• Scrapbook items from the Denver Women’s Bank, which represents a major step forward for women’s economic empowerment. Until 1974, American women couldn’t get credit from banks. Denver became the second city in the nation to open a bank dedicated to serving women in 1978.
   

Votes & Dreams also includes an outdoor sculpture in the museum’s patio created by queer, Hispanic Colorado artist Ariana Gonzales through the Athena Project. Gonzales’ sculpture Heart Burning reimagines the journey Colorado women took to secure their voting rights through the lens of science fiction. Powered by a beating heart at the center of a mailbox, the tentacles of this sculptural machine reach out for the community to participate in its agenda for equality, as the battle continues through our current timeline.

The exhibition opens on April 3 and museum visitors can experience it with the purchase of a General Admission ticket, which is always free for History Colorado members and children under 18. 

Interviews are available with Susan Fries, Director of the Center for Colorado Women’s History.

Historic photographs are available for media use upon request. 

About Center for Colorado Women’s History
The Center for Colorado Women’s History is the first state museum focused on the past, present and future achievements of Colorado women. The Center focuses on scholarship, research, public programs, narrative, lectures, and exhibitions that expand the understanding and collective memory of the history of women in Colorado. The Center for Colorado Women’s History is a community museum of History Colorado.

The Center for Colorado Women’s History is located at 1310 Bannock Street in Denver and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.h-co.org/ccwh or call 303-620-4933.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a 146-year-old institution that offers access to our state’s history through enriching experiences at eleven museums and historic sites. As an agency of the State of Colorado and a non-profit organization, History Colorado is committed to serving all Coloradans through generational work that centers communities, deepens knowledge and catalyzes the transformative power of history.

History Colorado is also home to a free public research center, people-centered preservation work done by the State Historical Fund and the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of the State Archaeologist, the State Historians Council, and many other community-driven public history projects such as the Museum of Memory. History Colorado stewards more than 15 million objects, photographs, and archival resources that make up the State’s collection, and serve tens of thousands of learners of all ages each year. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado