Suffrage exhibit can finally be displayed
Green McAdoo Director Marilyn Hayden looks over the Tennessee Suffrage display that will be featured at the Green McAdoo Museum and Cultural Center (photo:Ken Leinart )
The Green McAdoo Cultural Museum and Cultural Center in Clinton was no exception.
“We were closed, then we were open, then closed again … It hard to keep track of,” Green McAdoo Museum and Cultural Center Director Marilyn Hayden said last week.
Hayden was preparing an exhibit on the Tennessee suffrage movement that will be displayed at the museum until “at least mid-January,” and possibly longer if there is continuing interest.
Hayden said the museum received the display in late June, but at the time Green McAdoo was following city of Clinton guidelines and was not open.
It wasn’t open in July, either, as a ban on public gatherings continued.
“We thought about opening it for election day,” Hayden said. “But we were still uncertain what the guidelines would allow.”
Yes, it’s been that kind of year.
Tennessee was the final state to ratify the amendment that gave women the right to vote. The state’s historical role in the passing of the 15th Amendment was celebrated state-wide in numerous outdoor celebrations, but having an indoor exhibit in 2020 was not possible.
“This year was different,” Hayden laughed. “We couldn’t hold the ‘Jazz on the Hill’ concerts, and those are outside. It was hard to plan events.”
As restrictions have loosened, Hayden said it was time to show off the suffrage exhibit.
“But that may change next week,” Hayden said. “We’re just hoping we get a chance to show this off.”