Amy McKinney

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of women’s suffrage, Northwest College’s Women in the West course, taught by Amy McKinney, is launching a series of monthly talks focusing on Wyoming women. The first event takes place at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Yellowstone Building Conference Center.

In keeping with the celebration, the Wyoming Office of Tourism has declared 2019 the “Year of Wyoming Women.”

Earlier this year, McKinney received a grant from the American Heritage Center in Laramie to use their archival collections in her Women in the West course. She’s including a special focus on Wyoming women and suffrage this semester. As part of the grant, the class will be hosting a series of public presentations throughout the fall semester featuring Wyoming women.

At Thursday’s event, McKinney will present on the 50th anniversary of suffrage in Wyoming in 1919, which coincided with the final push for the passage of the Susan B. Anthony Amendment (what became the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution).

The presentation is based on a chapter she contributed to the forthcoming book, “Equality at the Ballot Box: Votes for Women on the Northern Great Plains States,” which will be released in October.

Future presentations in October and November include Wyoming women in agriculture and in the military. The culminating event will take place Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m. in the Yellowstone Building Conference Center — the exact date suffrage was signed into law in Wyoming. The Dec. 10 presentations will feature students in the Women in the West class, who will share various archival collections from the American Heritage Center. Audience members will vote on their favorite presentation, with that student receiving $150.

Area residents are encouraged to attend and help celebrate Wyoming’s history of suffrage. All events are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided.

For more information, contact Amy McKinney at amy.mckinney@nwc.edu or call 307-754-6008.