Woman born before women could vote reacts to the first female Democratic nominee for president

[bigtree]

Shirley Skinner celebrating her 100th birthday

Shirley has seen the Great Depression, two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, and now a woman nominee for president.

Shirley has seen a lot.

Born in 1915—five years before most women could legally vote in America—Shirley has lived through the Great Depression, two world wars, the Civil Rights Movement, and the moon landing.

In that time, she’s seen incredible progress in America. And today, Shirley is rooting for something she never thought she’d live to see: the first woman president of the United States.




Shirley was only 5 years old when most women got the right the vote, but she remembers the reactions. “People would say that it was going to be terrible, that the country was going to go to the devil,” she says.

She’s right: One of the more popular arguments against allowing women to vote was, in the words of one anti-suffrage group, “80 percent of the women eligible to vote are married and can only double or annul their husbands’ votes.”

But Shirley also remembers her mother coyly telling critics of the 19th Amendment, “We’ll see.”

Shirley she set out to build her own life, on her own terms—but at that time, it didn’t come easily.


Shirley shopping for fruit, 1952


She remembers how hard it was for women to accomplish the simplest things: When she tried to get a mortgage on her own, the bank told her, “Well, that won’t do.” When she tried to buy a car, they asked her if it was for her husband. And when she went to buy a farm, the seller all but laughed in her face.

But attitudes like that only made Shirley work harder. Eventually, she got her own car—a Ford. “We were always Ford people,” she says proudly.

And though it raised eyebrows, Shirley even taught herself how to drive—a skill that would prove useful as the men in her hometown shipped off to fight in World War II.

While the war raged on, Shirley became a chauffeur on Long Island, joining the growing movement of women who got “war jobs” in order to keep the country moving.

And sure enough, Shirley got her farm, too.


Shirley and her mother on Shirley's farm in upstate New York, 1939


The more she shrugged off people’s narrow attitudes about women, the easier it became to forge ahead. “I wasn’t stopping,” she says. “I kept going.”

In 1936, Shirley cast her first vote for Franklin Delano Roosevelt—and she’s been voting the progressive ticket ever since. “I’ve always been a Democrat,” she says proudly.

And as for today’s Republicans?

“Well, some of the men aren’t very good,” Shirley says, with all the diplomacy she can muster.

For Shirley, who lived through the evolution of women’s rights in America, having a woman hold the highest office in this country is more than symbolic. It’s real, tangible evidence of how far women have come over the last century.


Shirley aboard the RMS Mauretania, 1952


Shirley is quick to point out that it’s not just about electing any woman.

She’s always thought highly of Hillary Clinton. “She was always doing something,” she says. She’s a fan of Hillary’s policies, too—particularly the ones that will affect seniors, like protecting and expanding Social Security and Medicaid.

Shirley is firmly committed to her plans to vote in this election. And in the meantime, she’s letting everyone know who she’s voting for and why—and working tirelessly to turn supporters out for Hillary Clinton.

Because if there’s one thing Shirley has learned over a lifetime of progress, it’s that there’s only one way to shatter a glass ceiling: with hard work, one crack at a time.



Shirley and her corgi, anxiously awaiting Election Day



read: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/feed/woman-born-women-could-vote-reacts-first-female-democratic-nominee-president/

[stonecutter357]

1. K&R!

[Hortensis]

2. Great story of what she's seen.

Thinking of attitudes toward Hillary, Shirley was born and had spent a lifetime thinking for herself before Hillary arrived on the national scene. She didn't grow up with Richard Mellon Scaife's hugely disseminated lies swirling over her head while she played on the floor.

Last night at dinner someone who clearly knew nothing about politics virtuously interjected what she did know: That she could never vote for Hillary because she was "conniving and evil." Been there before, many times, so didn't ask her why. It's just "in the air," and she's accepted it the way she accepts signals from her skin that the room's too cold.

[Thinkingabout]

3. My mom was born in 1913, quiet a lot of changes, I don't know when

Voting became important to my parents but we were expected to go and vote every time there was anything to vote. There was not early voting and no voter ID, voting by mail or easy ways to travel but they still voted. What a privilege to vote, and now we have a woman as the presumptive nominee. It only took 96 years. I am excited to have Hillary as the nominee, she is the most qualified candidate running for president in 2016.

Good story about Shirley, thanks for sharing.

[Night Watchman]

4. Thrilled to K&R!

[Surya Gayatri]

5. Wonderful story. What a dame! You are my hero, Shirley.

[glowing]

6. Lol- with the establishment crap we have going today,

And calls for practicality, and snidely declaring people wanting "unicorns and rainbows", women still wouldn't be voting... See, it takes a progressive, populist uprisings to achieve some of the greatest achievements we have in this country today!

So, please, don't let this "first woman President" (perhaps), settle for less. Make her push for the types of progressive agendas that will lift all Americans! And we need a President who will tackle climate change as if we had an alien invasion occurring. It's that drastic folks. She has tied herself to every monied interest for this "achievement". Please Hillary supporters, demand some damned progress. Or at least achieve equalizing status for people with the rest of the developed countries.

[bigtree]

8. step down from the campaign delusion

...that only Sanders supporters could possibly care about those things.

Or, that Sanders cared enough about issues beyond this narrow set of expectations you've raised.

Btw, Sanders IS the establishment.

[glowing]

9. Seeing how most Clinton supporters have been deriding progressive

ideals as delusional (even though other countries have been doing it as regular practice for years), telling people it's unicorns and rainbows, and seeing her tell Bernie no to platform ideas and ignoring the populist uprise, well I have my doubts.

She is currently campaigning for more war, changing to fracking and then maybe solar, not breaking up banks, and not regulating Wall St, or closing tax loopholes or raising taxes on the top % in this country, or claiming she will not sign TPP into law... She has a great habit of "evolving" as needed for who she's standing in front of. She lacks trust from a lot of people. And she's in a "dynasty" type of line, like America can't find but 2 family's to represent America. The fact that she's so happy to love on Bush and Kissinger should be so disturbing to Democrats that they run away from electing her.... But oh no, progressives who have been right time and time again are just so wrong always. Lol.

[bigtree]

10. that's just not true

..that you can credibly extrapolate the views of 'Clinton supporters' from whatever you read on the internet.

All of the rest you wrote about Clinton doesn't change the fact that Sanders voted with the 'establishment' Democrats well over 95% of the time, and has absolutely no plan for advancing his agenda other than this nebulous notion of a 'people's revolution' which supposedly would produce more support than he's managed in this losing run for the White House. Call it 'unicorns, ' delusion, or outright sophistry, but he's no more in a position to effect those changes than Obama was in his historic presidency, whose support in his campaigns outstripped ANYTHING Sanders was able to accomplish.

Not to neglect to mention that the entire progressive caucus he founded in the House is voting for Hillary. I guess you think they're supporting more wars, fracking, dynasty, or whatever campaign rhetoric you're still clinging on to.

Step away from the primary.

[FSogol]

13. +1. Well said. n/t

[charlyvi]

14. Very, Very well said! eom

[glowing]

15. It's impossible to further this discussion any further on this duscussion

board. Have a nice day.

[ismnotwasm]

7. K&R

[Mr Maru]

11. Please, Please repost this wonderful post after the "big change"

It's a great read! More people should see it.

[Alfresco]

12. K&R!

[Hekate]

16. This is grand. Uplifting!

[Bill USA]

17. recommended!

[eastwestdem]

18. Love this!! nt