Governor William P. Hobby signs the suffrage referendum act in the Texas Capitol, while a skeptical Minnie Fisher Cunningham looks on from his left, February 5, 1918. Image credit: Briscoe Center for American History, UT Austin
Modern Times Lecture Series
“To the Women of Texas”: Suffrage Campaigns in the Lone Star State
Sarah Sonner, Ph.D.
SUnday, april 26, 2026 | 2:30pm - 4:00pm
**Doors at 2:00pm; Lecture at 2:30PM
In Person and online!
TICKETS
$10 General Admission | $5 Student | $0 NCHM Member
Through a selection of images and documents from the Briscoe Center’s archives, this talk will explore the path to suffrage in Texas, and its influence on the national passage of the 19th amendment. Highlights include the work of Minnie Fisher Cunningham, the WCTU, and Anna Pennybacker, showing aspects of the complex progress of suffrage on the state and national level.
To attend online, register and receive the Zoom meeting link by email ahead of the lecture. Free parking is available in the lot behind the Museum for in person attendees.
About the Speaker:
Sarah Sonner, Ph.D. is Director for Curation at the Briscoe Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin. She joined the Briscoe Center in 2016 and oversees the center’s exhibit program and material culture collections. Previously, Dr. Sonner served as Curator for the National Endowment for the Humanities’ traveling exhibits. Her experience in exhibit development includes roles in research, interpretation, and design coordination at museums such as the Brooklyn Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. She received her PhD in Cultural Studies from Goldsmiths College, University of London.
Sponsors
Become a sponsor for this event? Contact Cristina Feldott at (512) 478-2335 or cfeldott@nchmuseum.org.