11th State to Ratify | Missouri | Rori de Rien, Artist
Her Flag Artist, Rori de Rien
For Missouri's stripe, I chose the overall theme of the “Golden Lane”, a non-violent protest organized for the 1916 Democratic National Convention held in St. Louis, MO.
The event had women from local suffrage organizations carrying yellow parasols and umbrellas outside the entrance to the convention in the hopes to pressure Democrats to adopt a pro-suffrage stance, and many would.
Also celebrated here are the struggles of Missouri women past and present. At the far left we find elders from the Osage and Missouria Nations, who would lose their rights under European colonization. Sacred Sun (Osage) and Sacagawea (Lemhi Shoshone) are also pictured. Moving right is Kate Richards O'Hare, a working class labor and prison reform activist imprisoned for her anti-war views during WWI. Next, Harriet Robinson Scott and Virginia Minor petition for their rights at the Old Courthouse; both of whom would be denied—Minor's right to vote, and Scott's very right to freedom itself. On the right, Golden Lane organizer Edna Gellhorn holds the largest yellow umbrella. Finishing the image, the present fight for recognition and voting rights is portrayed, as well as Missouri's current diverse activists, still fighting. In the center, “Show Me Voting Rights” is a play on our state motto “The Show Me State”.