Dr. Judith Burgess, event organizer and member of NVWT, unveils the plaque which is mounted on the former African American YMCA on Carlton Avenue which is now the New Carlton Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Brooklyn, New York. For more NVWT information, go to: https://ncwhs.org/votes-for-women-trail PHOTO CREDIT: GERALD PEART
The New York Committee of the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT) partnered with the historic Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (LAPC), and Psi Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Incorporated to host the October 15, 2022 dedication ceremony for the plaque commemorating the centennial of the 19th Amendment and honoring the tireless efforts of a Brooklyn-based group of Black Women Suffragists, who struggled to secure the RIGHT TO VOTE for all American women.
The celebratory event took place in Cuyler Gore Park, Fulton Street and Greene Avenue, Brooklyn, NY; from 1 pm to 2:30 pm (EST). The newly installed plaque – funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation – honors the African American women of the Equal Suffrage League of Brooklyn (ESL) and is the first such NVWT plaque in New York City. In 1908, these women established their headquarters at the Carlton Avenue Branch of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), in Brooklyn. Among the leaders of the ESL were: (1) Sarah J.S Garnet, the founder of the Equal Suffrage League and the first African American woman principal in New York City’s public schools, and (2) Dr. Verina Morton-Jones a medical doctor, and outstanding social activist, who served as the President of the ESL for many years. State and local government officials including NYS Attorney General Letitia James, Justin Freeman, a representative for NYS Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest (AD 57) and NYC Council Member Crystal Hudson (CD 35), were among the attendees who offered remarks at the event.