The Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation launched a donation campaign Tuesday to raise an estimated $50 million needed to build a monument on the National Mall, reports the Tennessee Lookout. The campaign, 72-Hours for Women’s Monumental Equality Giving Challenge, will end tomorrow at 11 a.m. CDT. Funds will go towards designing and erecting the monument, which will honor 200 years of efforts by activists who have fought for women’s right to vote on the streets and in the courts. The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee unanimously passed a bill in July that would allow the monument to be constructed on the mall but provided no federal funding.

Women judges from across the U.S. and beyond gathered in Nashville last week for the 43rd Annual National Association of Women Judges Conference. The conference was originally set to take place last year to mark the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous plenary and breakout sessions were held throughout the conference, including panels on developing recovery courts, ethics and professionalism, access to justice for LGBTQ youth and much more. Various sessions on women’s voting rights were held throughout the conference, capped off with a special reenactment of the Tennessee Vote on Ratification of the 19th Amendment. The Administrative Office of the Courts has more details on each session and the judges and attorneys who played a vital role in making the conference a success.

The University of Tennessee College of Law is hosting the American Bar Association's 19th Amendment traveling exhibit, "100 Years After the19th Amendment: Their Legacy, and Our Future,” Aug. 13-26 in the Joel A. Katz Law Library. The traveling exhibit, co-sponsored by the Library of Congress, celebrates the anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment with historic photos and artifacts. It also provides details about the story of the battle for ratification, its influence on subsequent movements related to equal rights and gives focus to the challenges that remain. Read more from the college of law.

In late August, the Niota Depot Preservation Committee held a ceremony unveiling the U.S. Post Office's new "19th Amendment: Women Vote" stamp. The group intended to live stream the event on its Facebook page but technical issues interfered with those plans. The group announced this week that a re-broadcast of the event is now available on the Facebook page of Tyler Boyd, the great-nephew of Rep. Harry Burn. Rep. Burn, who was from Niota, cast the deciding vote for Tennessee to ratify the 19th Amendment.

When Knoxville attorney Sarah Sheppeard took the oath of office in June 2019, she became the first in what will be a string of at least four females to lead the Tennessee Bar Association. Jackson attorney Michelle Greenway Sellers took the gavel to lead the organization in June, and she will be followed by President-elect Sherie Edwards of Brentwood in 2021 and Knoxville lawyer Tasha Blakney in 2022. The terms of Sheppeard and Sellers both have included the challenge of leading during times of crisis, with the COVID-19 pandemic following on the heals of tornadoes in Middle and East Tennessee, and incidents of racial injustice leading to protests across the state, nation and globe. Learn more about how they have faced these challenges and the future they point to.

The Chattanooga Bar Association recognized two individuals with the 2020 Liberty Bell Award at its virtual Law Day celebration on Aug. 18. The first award was presented to JoAnne Humphries Favors, a former legislator, nurse and community servant. In addition to being the first African American female elected to the Hamilton County Commission, Favors served seven terms as a state representative. The second award went to retired U.S. Army Gen. B.B. Bell, who served in the armed forces for 39 years. In Chattanooga, Bell has served on the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Alumni Board of Directors and with the Charles H. Coolidge Medal of Honor Heritage Center. The Hamilton County Herald has more about the association's Law Day celebration, which was broadcast live from multiple locations in Chattanooga and Nashville and incorporated tributes to the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, the Niota Depot Preservation Committee will broadcast a live stream on its Facebook page of a pictorial stamp unveiling and cancellation ceremony of the USPS's new "19th Amendment: Women Vote" stamp. Niota is the hometown of Harry Burn, the young state representative who cast the deciding vote to ratify the 19th Amendment in Tennessee. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. EDT on Saturday and will feature speakers including State Sen. Becky Massey, Niota Mayor Lois Preece and descendants of Burn's mother Febb Burn. Field representatives for U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and Rep. Chuck Fleischmann also will speak. Head over to the Preservation Committee’s Facebook page to watch the event.

The University of Memphis School of Law is hosting the American Bar Association's 19th Amendment traveling exhibit, "100 Years After the 19th Amendment: Their Legacy, and Our Future," in its student lounge Aug. 18-28. The traveling exhibit, co-sponsored by the Library of Congress, features historic photos, information about the battle for ratification, and the challenges that remain. The law school has put together a video to provide a virtual visit to the exhibit since the campus is closed to visitors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more from the school.

The TBA had back-to-back female presidents in 2012 and 2013, and both of them launched strong programs to serve the Tennessee legal community and the public at large. Nashville attorney and Grainger County native Jackie Dixon showed her passion for the law and the legal profession with programs geared toward the development of new lawyers, support of established attorneys and guidance for veteran lawyers nearing the end of their careers. Dixon handed off the gavel to Sevierville attorney Cindy Wyrick, who carried that effort forward with programs for small firm practitioners, an added focus on public service, and an increased emphasis on advocacy and public education that included production of the Legal Handbook for Tennessee Seniors.

A number of legal luminaries have contributed recipes to a new cookbook from the American Bar Association marking the centennial of the 19th Amendment. The digital cookbook is modeled after similar cookbooks published a century ago by suffragists to gain support for the movement. The “Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Cookbook: 100 Recipes for 100 Years” can be downloaded for free. It features recipes from Supreme Court justices, NPR legal correspondent Nina Totenberg, Equal Justice Initiative founder Bryan Stevenson and international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, among others.