ST. LOUIS — The Gateway Arch and the Old Courthouse will be illuminated purple and gold Wednesday night to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and women’s constitutional right to vote.
The Gateway Arch National Park joins fellow National Park Service sites and landmarks across the country in participating in “Forward Into Light” led by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
“Forward Into Light” is a phrase associated with the banner Inez Milholland carried in the New York City suffrage parade on May 4, 1911. The phrase became a popular rallying cry for women suffragists.
The Gateway Arch National Park has strong ties to the women’s suffrage movement as the Old Courthouse was the site of Virginia Minor’s fight for the right to vote in the late 1800s. Her case was eventually heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a news release.
“Although she ultimately lost her case at the Supreme Court, Virginia Minor had a lasting impact on women’s suffrage and inspired more women to fight for their right to vote” said Pam Sanfilippo, Gateway Arch National Park. “We are honored to join this celebration of women’s rights and mark this important milestone in American history.”
Why purple and gold?
In 1867, suffragists in Kansas adopted the sunflower – the state flower – as a symbol of their campaign. From then on, yellow (gold) became associated with the movement. Members of the National Woman’s Party described it as “the color of light and life, is as the torch that guides our purpose, pure and unswerving.”
Purple came to America as a suffrage color from England, where it represented “the instinct of freedom and dignity.” The National Woman’s Party described the meaning of purple as symbolizing “the color of loyalty, constancy to purpose, unswerving steadfastness to a cause.”
The Arch and Old Courthouse will be illuminated in the colors at around 8:45 p.m. Wednesday.
