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The public is invited to join the members of the La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) as they celebrate the last day of Women’s History Month and the conclusion of the Legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Project at their General Meeting in March. Their General Meeting will occur on Thursday, March 31, 2022, at the Cerritos Library, 18025 Bloomfield Avenue, Cerritos, CA. There will be a social time starting at 6:30 p.m.,
followed by a presentation at 7:00 p.m. by Norma Williamson, Coordinator of the Legacy Project.
Two of the young high school women who participated in the Legacy Project, Leah Triana (a junior at Gahr High School), and Alejandra Espinosa (a senior at Artesia High School), will be guest speakers. After the Legacy Project presentation, California Assemblymember Cristina Garcia will report on current legislation that may affect women and girls. The evening will conclude with a brief branch business meeting.
The Legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Project was a joint project of Norma Williamson of the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW Branch, and the ABC Unified School District, as part of Career Tech Education (CTE) and the Community Partnership Office coordinated by Ms. Sasha Leonardo under the direction of Dr. Crechena Wise. Ms. Evangelina Romero served as the CTE liaison for the ABCUSD. The Legacy Project was designed by Norma Williamson as a virtual after school program for 11th and 12th grade young women to introduce them to the Women’s Suffrage Movement and learn to appreciate their right to vote. Women suffragists worked for 72 years from 1848 to 1920 until they finally obtained the right to vote with the ratification of the 19th Amendment by the U.S. Congress on August 26, 1920.
The Legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Project was made possible by a grant awarded by AAUW California to Norma Williamson as Coordinator of the Legacy Project. Besides exposing the young women about the Women’s Suffrage Movement, the project included having them experience two voter pre-registration drives for high school students, learning about election issues, and interviewing former women elected officials.
The former elected officials who were interviewed by the students in virtual meetings included Diana Needham, Celia Spitzer, and Dr. Tina Cho. Diana Needham was mayor of the City of Cerritos for three terms. Celia Spitzer was a former president of the board of ABC Unified School District and served as a board member for four terms. Dr. Tina Cho was a former member of the Cerritos College Board. By having these former elected officials be interviewed by the young women of the Legacy Project, it was hoped that the students will be inspired to explore careers in public office and become active civic leaders in their communities.
There were five other high school young women who actively participated in the Legacy Project besides Leah Triana and Alejandra Espinosa. Jamie Gokim, Alessa Gomez, Krishna Hajari, Isabel Rivera,and Amber Wang were unable to be present at this meeting due to conflicts with other school related activities.
For more information about the Legacy of the Women’s Suffrage Movement Project, contact Legacy Project Coordinator Norma Williamson by e-mail at [email protected].
