An upcoming virtual exhibit by the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Center for Arkansas History and Culture will showcase the history of the women’s suffrage movement in Arkansas. 

When the exhibit is launched Feb. 7, 2017, it will mark 100 years since Arkansas gave women the right to vote — three years before the United States passed the 19th Amendment, which established that right throughout the country.

“Arkansas Women’s Suffrage Centennial” will feature historic documents and photographs as well as essays and critiques on various aspects of women’s suffrage. Additionally, the virtual exhibit will include lesson plans and educational materials for teachers.

“Creating this virtual exhibit will give the world access to important resources and scholarly perspective on this critical leap in Arkansas’s long history of civil rights struggles,” said Chad Garret, director of technology and digital initiatives for UALR Collections and Archives. “The fact that it’s online means that anyone can access valuable information on the struggle Arkansas’s women endured to access their right to vote and be full participants in our democracy.”

Official events for Arkansas Women’s Suffrage Centennial Project, which will be celebrated from 2017 to 2020, also will be included in the exhibit.

Promoting events, encouraging research and education programs related to women’s suffrage, and helping to preserve the history of women’s suffrage within the state are among the goals for the project.

A $6,440 grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council is supporting the exhibit.

The project steering committee includes representatives from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, the Arkansas State Archives, the Arkansas Women’s History Institute, the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, the UALR Center for Arkansas History and Culture, the Old State House Museum, and the MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History.