During the Education Center’s open hours, visit the “To Make Our Voices Heard” exhibit in our West Gallery.

The exhibition, created in partnership with the Tennessee State Museum and the Tennessee State Library and Archives, explores the history of the women’s suffrage movement, Tennessee’s dramatic vote to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920 and the years that followed.

The exhibition is constructed of multiple dynamic panels, offering guests an experience of archival images, engaging stories and introductions to the leaders of the fight for and against the cause of women’s suffrage. The stories begin by detailing the early challenges of racial and gender discrimination and continuing to the organization of African American and white women’s associations to encourage political engagement.  

Visitors will also learn about Febb Burn of McMinn County, whose letter to her son, Harry T. Burn, resulted in a last-minute vote that helped change women’s history in the United States forever.

The exhibit includes a Tennessee map, highlighting suffragist activities across the state, including in Giles County, as well as two panels created by Wolf Gap highlighting local women’s organizations and leaders.