Nominate Trailblazing Women for TPSMA Silent Sentinel Award
Call for Nominations!
The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association requests nominations for the 2015 Silent Sentinel Award, honoring someone who has been instrumental in advocating for women’s rights in the United States. The award highlights and honors outstanding individuals who share common traits with those who stood firmly to secure the 19th Amendment, which prohibits the government from denying any citizen the right to vote because of gender. Award recipients will be honors for their positive and valuable influence on the community and their peers.
Each recipient of the award will be a person who has contributed substantially to the following:
1. Efforts to increase the rights of women in the United States by providing leadership through innovative programs, communication, education and/or active participation in the community.
2. Outstanding, significant service at the national level and/or within his/or local community.
Nominations are due May 15, 2015.
TPSMA will present the award(s) at the Woodlands at Algonkian, Sterling, Virginia, on the evening of Thursday, September 17, 2015. More details will follow. The proceeds from the evening will support the construction of the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial, which will be dedicated to the suffragists who were instruments in winning the vote.
The name of the award — silent sentinel — was that given to the women who stood silently picketing the White House in 1917 urging a voice in their government. They were subsequently arrested for “blocking the sidewalk” and were taken to the Occoquan Workhouse in Lorton, Virginia, where they endured harsh treatment, including force-feedings and beatings. The revelation of their treatment served as a significant “turning point” in the fight for women’s right to vote.
If you know someone deserving of the Silent Sentinel Award, please let us know!