Susan B. Anthony museum rejects Trump pardon, says how he can really honor her
The museum dedicated to the memory of Susan B. Anthony has, on her behalf, declined President Donald Trump’s pardon of the late women’s suffrage leader.
The National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House in Rochester, New York, explained in a lengthy Twitter thread Tuesday why it objected to Trump’s pardon for Anthony, who was arrested and charged in 1872 for voting illegally.
It also suggested some other ways that Anthony could be honored.
Trump announced the pardon Tuesday on the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote.
Critics accused Trump of performing an empty gesture with the pardon, given his recent attacks on mail-in voting and bids to cast doubt on the result of the 2020 election.
Trump has claimed he’ll only lose to Democratic nominee Joe Biden in November if the vote is “rigged.”
The museum, where Anthony lived and was arrested, noted how she’d been “outraged to be denied a trial by jury” and proposed “if one wants to honor Susan B. Anthony today, a clear stance against any form of voter suppression would be welcome.”
“Support for the Equal Rights Amendment would be well received,” it continued. “Advocacy for human rights for all would be splendid.”
“Anthony was also a strong proponent of sex education, fair labor practices, excellent public education, equal pay for equal work, and elimination of all forms of discrimination,” the museum said.
Check out the museum’s full thread here:
On news of a presidential pardon for Susan B. Anthony on August 18, 2020: Objection! Mr. President, Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon today!
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
Anthony wrote in her diary in 1873 that her trial for voting was “The greatest outrage History ever witnessed.” She was not allowed to speak as a witness in her own defense, because she was a woman. Judge Hunt dismissed the jury and pronounced her guilty.
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
She was outraged to be denied a trial by jury. She proclaimed, “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty.”
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
To pay would have been to validate the proceedings. To pardon Susan B. Anthony does the same.
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
If one wants to honor Susan B. Anthony today, a clear stance against any form of voter suppression would be welcome. Enforcement and expansion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would be celebrated.
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
We must assure that states respect the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments to the United States Constitution.
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
Support for the Equal Rights Amendment would be well received.
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
Advocacy for human rights for all would be splendid.
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
Anthony was also a strong proponent of sex education, fair labor practices, excellent public education, equal pay for equal work, and elimination of all forms of discrimination.
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
As the National Historic Landmark and Museum that has been interpreting her life and work for seventy-five years from her home and headquarters, we would be delighted to share more. #susanb200#susanbrocs#WomensVote100#womenssuffrage@lynnsherr@AnnDGordon
— S. B. Anthony Museum (@SusanBHouse) August 18, 2020
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
