In February 2022, I was invited to make a presentation to the annual diversity brunch hosted by the Rockland County (NY) chapter of the American Association of University of Women. There were about 150 people on the Zoom call. While the focus of the presentation was my family history research, I used the occasion to highlight some of the Black women who (along with my great grandmother Addie Jackson and great aunt Beatrice Jackson) helped win voting rights for women in New York state in 1917. Those women included Empire State Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs leaders and activists Mary B. Talbert, Maria C. Lawton and Minnie Brown.

I also shared background, including newspaper articles, on the significant role that the women’s federation played in caring for Harriet Tubman during the last years of her life. In addition to her other contributions, Tubman was an outspoken advocate for women’s suffrage.