Olympia Brown: Minister among the first to vote
Born in Kalamazoo County in 1835, Olympia Brown proudly cast a vote in 1920 as one of few suffragists who lived to see the fruits of their labors.
A graduate of Antioch College and St. Lawrence University theological school, Brown faced down many detractors and critics to become the first woman to achieve full ministerial standing and be recognized by a denomination, the Universalist Church.
While at her first post in Weymouth Landing, Mass., Brown became deeply involved with the suffrage movement, working with the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone.
With the blessing of her congregation, she took a four-month leave of absence to undertake a barn-storming tour of Kansas, urging passage of the woman suffrage amendment in no fewer than 300 speeches. The effort failed, but Brown didn't lose her passion for the movement.
A charter member of the Equal Rights Association and principle founder of the New England Woman's Suffrage Association and the Federal Women's Suffrage Association in Chicago, she first saw her hard work pay off in 1886, with passage of a law that allowed women to vote in school elections. Buoyed by this success, she left a post in Racine, Wisc. that she had accepted in 1878 to devote her full attention to the women's movement.
It is worth noting that, in Racine, the Unitarian Universalist Church and an elementary school are named after this suffrage trailblazer. And to honor the 100th anniversary of her ordination, the Theological School at St. Lawrence University unveiled a plaque which reads in part: Preacher of Universalism, Pioneer and Champion of Women's Citizenship Rights, Forerunner of the New Era, The flame of her spirit still burns today.
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Who was afraid of Olympia Brown?