Unfinished Business: The Complicated History of Voting Rights in America

In the seventh year of our annual spring event, Lesley University’s Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences and Violence Transformed look to embrace the artist as social activist with continuing in our Future of the Past series with “Unfinished Business - The Complicated History of Voting Rights in America.” The year 2020, a presidential election year, will mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States which granted to American women the right to vote. While both the Amendment and the suffrage movement that led to its passage are worthy of commemoration, the reality of who the Amendment failed to benefit --and the struggles for voting rights that continued long after its passage-- are also worthy of recognition and discussion. Indeed, we continue today to live in a time when voting rights are regularly threatened by violence, racism, white supremacy, gerrymandering, voter intimidation and suppression. Thus, in this election year, this exhibit highlights artwork with focuses on the history and future of voting rights in America. Artwork included in the exhibit celebrates those who fought the fight for women’s suffrage, those who fought throughout the 20th century to secure voting rights for all, and those who are fighting today to ensure equal access to the polls. the future of voting and voting rights in America.

Each year since 2010, Violence Transformed has collaborated with Lesley University to draw attention to the catalytic role of artists as activists in addressing the impact and reality of violence here at home and around the world. And, since 2014, that collaboration has resulted in a particularly powerful series of collaborative “The Future of the Past” exhibits and events, including:

2014 “The Future of the Past: Can Crimes Against Humanity be Prevented” (with project Exodus and a focus on the Holocaust and other crimes against humanity)

2015 “The Future of the Past: A History Ignored” (acknowledging the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which has yet to be recognized as genocide)

2016 “The Future of the Past: Black Lives Matter” (addressing the continuing role of racism in the administration of American justice and affirming the demand for social justice for all)

2017 "The Future of the Past: Open Wounds and Stories of Partition”, commemorating the anniversary of the India/Pakistan partition

2018 “The Future of the Past: Women Against Violence - Resistance and Resilience (celebrating the role of women in the “Me Too” era and in the reawakening of an international Women’s Movement)

2019 “The Future of the Past: Art and Activism (celebrating the artist's role as activist throughout history to current day)