Kay Groves Bixler spent the day getting the word out that women should not take voting for granted

Editor Note: Aunt Kay and I have differing opinions when it comes to politics, But we both agree on one thing. Your right to vote and and take part in the direction of this country is one of the things that make America a great country. Get out and vote on November 4th.

Ben Belhorn

August 25, 2008
Local women view 'Iron Jawed Angels,' and come out ready to fight for rights
By LOU WHITMIRE
News Journal MANSFIELD

-- While women have come a long way when it comes to equality, Mansfield Councilwoman Ellen Haring listened closely as Kay Bixler told a modern-day story about a husband telling his wife to vote for certain candidates.

"It's not only husband and wife. I've had several people say, 'My minister hasn't told me how to vote yet,' " she said.

Sunday afternoon, a group of about 25 women and a man watched the film, "Iron Jawed Angels," which debuted in 2004 and stars Hilary Swank and Frances O'Connor.

The film was shown at Democratic Headquarters in the K.E. McCartney Building, 16 S. Park St.

The film recounts a key chapter in U.S. history: the struggle of suffragists who fought for the passage of the 19th Amendment. Focusing on the two defiant women, Alice Paul (Hilary Swank) and Lucy Burns (Frances O'Connor), the film shows how these activists broke from the mainstream women's-rights movement and created a more radical wing, pushing the boundaries of political protest to secure women's voting rights in 1920.

The women are thrown in jail, with an ensuing hunger strike making headline news. The women's resistance to being force-fed earns them the nickname "Iron Jawed Angels."

During a discussion afterward, Alisha Angle, 14, a student at Lexington High School, said she hadn't really learned about the women's suffrage movement in history class.

"The movie was really good," she said.Cynthia O'Neal, long known for her work with the Mansfield chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said she believes in equality and justice for all people.

"These women were brave. Can you imagine being placed in jail and treated less than a human being? But yet they stood together as one unit and moved forward," she said. "... Our vote is so important. It will never be in vain. ... All they fought for, we must continue that march and continue that fight, getting people out, registering them to vote and making certain our women know how important it is.

"We one day will be looked at by the young people as the ancestors who continued to push. You young people will remember this day," O'Neal said.

"If you stay home, you're not saying anything," she said.

Local residents Sally Ford and Bettie Sherman were emotional after the film.

"I think more people should see it," said Ford.

Sherman said the strong women in the film made her ashamed of herself."

I don't know if I could be that true to something I believed in," she said. "I think of myself as being tough, but I don't know."

Ophelia Fry, of Bellville, said she would like to see the movie shown in every town.

Amy Burns told the younger girls who watched the film to stand strong.

"You have no idea what you have," she said of the sacrifices women made to win the right to vote.

Sunday was dedicated to U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, D-Ohio, who died last week. Organizers of the local event said Tubbs Jones herself paved the way for women in many ways.