Women’s Equality Day celebrates suffrage centennial, with Fresno area urged to Zoom in

A celebration of the 2020 Suffrage Centennial in honor of Women’s Equality Day is going virtual, with the League of Women Voters of Fresno inviting the public to take part.

The annual event is held to recognize the August 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution giving women the right to vote.

This year is more special, said Francine Farber, member of the league’s board of directors, given the 100-year celebration of the big moment in the women’s suffrage movement.

“This year is special for two reasons, ... not only with the 100-year celebration,” Farber said. “We also have a lot of women involved in a lot of professional movements this year, but also we have a woman as a vice presidential candidate.”

Every year the celebration honors the selection of the league’s Equality Day Award, given to a local woman who has succeeded in a non-traditional field. This year’s honoree is Linda Penner, retired chief of probation for Fresno County.

Under Penner’s leadership, Farber said, the department implemented practices to reduce recidivism as well as other innovations.

Also being honored is Janet Claassen as the winner of the Werner Lipton Award for her long-running community volunteerism. Claassen spent hundreds of hours volunteering through Friends of the Fresno County Library, Farber said.

Due to concerns about limiting the spread of COVID-19, this year’s event will be on Zoom at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26. It’s free to take part.

“We hope we get a wider audience than usual because you don’t really have to travel anymore,” Farber said. “But we really hope to get as many people to attend because its a special day to celebrate the centennial of women’s suffrage.”

For more information, call the league’s office at 559-226-8683.

This story was originally published August 23, 2020 at 3:49 PM.