The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1919-10-17

IA Colored Woman H. Strongly For
Suffrage And Says She Has As Much
Right TO Vote AS Any White
Woman.
Martha ". Wheeler, Of Blue Ridge
Summit, writes the Baltimore sun
editor the following on suffrage:
II am constant reader or ThG
Sun and have been for IL years, and
have as good reputation as any
colorad woman has, having worked
for my present mistress over seven
years, and was never arrested for
anything in my life and hope you
will print my letter in The Sun pa
per 90 the white lady suffragists can
see the colored ladies of dear old
Maryland are for woman's rights al
SO, and longing for the days to come
when we get it. / work hard every
day OF my life and my husband don't
average a month year, but spends
his time with a lot Of other 1dlers
loafing around and / have to work
hard all the time to provide for him
and my little girl, and around cleo
ton time he gets just as independent
and big as can be. He tells me he
is boss politician and gets big
money out of politics, but | don't get
any Of it. He claims woman's suf-
frage will be big thing for the
colored women, as we can become
Just as powerful politicians as the
men are, but my mistress says may
be the colored women might be ex-
cluded from voting and that is why
! N state
the views Of the colored lady suff-
ragists of dear old Maryland, for |
will surely fight for my rights IL
Woman's rights win. Besides I will
not let my husband vote for it if we
colored women don't get our vote
same as our white women folks do.
81 think a colored woman has just
as much right to vote as white
woman, and when we do get our
votes we will see that the laws are
made to give our children the same
chance for education as the cOlOred
childran get in Pennsylvania, New
York, New Jersey and all other
places where real freedom is prac-
ticed. That is one Of the principal
reasons | am such strong woman's
suffragist. Why should the colored
child be denied the same chance for
an education as the white children
get? Even my good mistress says
it is a shame and a misinterpreta-
ton of the Constitution of the United
States of America to bar colored
children from our public schools.
Besides it makes taxes higher to
maintain separate schools when one
school for both colored and white
would greatly lessen the expenses
and I know she is right, as | was
compelled to go to a colored school
to get my education, where, If L had
the same chance at school as the
colored children in Pennsylvania
and other freedom States have, /
would have been better educated than
am
THAT is why 1 am such strong
woman suffragist and l hope every
colored voter will vote for woman's
rights and pass it by a big majority
We want the white lady suffragists
club to know all of us cOlored lady
suffragists are loyal to the cause.
Every colored lady suffragist who
has been up here at Blue Ridge Sum-
nit, Buena Vista, and Monterey and
Pen Mar that L have talked to is
strong for WOman's suffrage and all
are enthusiastic over my idea of Or
ganizing wOman's suffrage clubs and
showing our white sisters how much
we are interested. And we pledge
to work hard for it, which
means better laws for humanity's
sake, better schools for our children
at less expense, like all free States
enjoy, and equal rights for women,
of color, who are just
as well able to vote for better laws
for our State as men are.
Il hope you will print my letter in
The Sun, as some of my lady friends
are going to look for it. Some of
them thing because l. am colored
servant you will just cast it aside. |
Besides, we want our white lady
friends to see that a great many of
us are for Woman's suffrage. We
are going to win our fight for it. |
Then we will show the people who |
oppose us how great and powerful |
we are, and we colored enthusiastics
will be found right up in the front |
row when our picture is taken