35th State to Ratify | Washington | Erin Shigaki, Artist
Her Flag Artist, Erin Shigaki
I represent the state of Washington as a woman and an Asian American—part of two communities prohibited from voting for many years in the United States.
Womxn won the right to vote in 1920, but Federal policy barred immigrants of Asian descent from becoming U.S. citizens until 1952. Through my stripe I wish to honor the courageous fights of many, without which I would not have this basic freedom. My stripe also captures the vibrant and unique energy of suffrage movements across the country and world, and the collective power of womxn / womyn which must not be diminished or taken for granted.