A public dedication ceremony is planned for a marker commemorating Black suffragists Lizzie Hubbard and Fannie Davis at 1:30 p.m. May 14 at Second Baptist Church, 1325 10th St.
The text of the marker states: “Second Baptist members Lizzie Hubbard and Fannie Davis, first women registered to vote in Bartholomew County after partial Suffrage Act of 1917.”
The marker was spearheaded by the Bartholomew County Centennial Suffragette Society as part of the National Women’s Suffrage Marker Grant Program.
The program was founded by the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
It commemorates “places where local grassroots activity took place, thereby recognizing the remarkable efforts of the foremothers who fought to win women the right to vote which will inspire women to vote today,” said collaborative President Marcha Weinstein.
Indiana Historical Bureau historian Nicole Poletika is program coordinator for Indiana.
The marker honoring Hubbard and Davis will be incorporated into the National Votes for Women Trail, which connects the work of suffragists from across the nation.
The public dedication ceremony will include a performance by the Second Baptist Church choir, a reading of Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” and a discussion about voting rights. Refreshments will be provided.
Organizers said this marker is not affiliated with the Indiana State Historical Marker Program.
