Inside Out | Champaign County League of Women Voters celebrates 100 years | Parks-recreation

Following the adoption of the 19th Amendment in 1920, Carrie Chapman Catt suggested reorganizing the 2 million-strong National American Woman’s Suffrage Association (NAWSA) into the League of Women Voters, an organization that would work for progressive legislation on a national and local level.

The league was conceived as a nonpartisan, nonsectarian organization with representation from every state. Its chief aims were to provide international support for women’s suffrage, to watch over state legislatures and prevent any legal discrimination on the basis of sex, and to strive to make American democratic institutions safe for all those governed by them.

The first convention of the League of Women Voters was held in Chicago in 1920. The original national plank, seen in this photograph, included “child welfare, education, home and health process, women in gainful occupations, public health and morals, and independent citizenship for married women.” Despite the passing of the 19th Amendment, it should be noted that African American women and women of color were still disenfranchised due to Jim Crow laws. Even inside of the suffrage movement and the league, some were content to fight just for the right to vote for White women.

This year, the local chapter — the Champaign County League of Women Voters — is celebrating its 100-year anniversary.

While the Champaign County Historical Archives has quite a bit of material about the local chapter’s first meetings, minutes and agendas, not much is known about the women behind the documents.

The archives knows that the first league president was Mrs. J. C. Utterback and that her first name may have been Florence. It appears that her husband, Mr. J. C. Utterback, was a local insurance man. Interestingly, he died in mid-October 1922. Perhaps his death spurred his widow into taking on a role in the league?

In the early days of the local league, the membership was often comprised of the wives of University of Illinois professors. Even though the women were well-educated and well-informed, they were not given an opportunity to use their talents at the university. Signing onto the league was a way these women could use their time and education to advocate for their personal interests and the interests of women. The league members launched initiatives, did studies, held meetings, encouraged voting and generally supported women in all areas of their lives.

The archives will continue researching the women who poured their time and energy into the local league. Their stories are important and often overlooked.

Flash forward a century and the local league chapters around the country hold a special meeting in June to determine the priorities for the coming year. This year, the local league chose diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), voter services and civic engagement. League members will choose programs, events, studies and initiatives that focus on those areas. Champaign County has a robust league membership, and while the organization has come a long way over the past 100 years, the “planks” that were used to start the league still resonate today. The local league membership is dedicated to providing information to its members and to the community at large.

Happy 100th birthday, Champaign County League of Women Voters!

Ann Panthen is an archives assistant in the Champaign County Historical Archives.