Images from a collection curated by the Kent State University at Ashtabula library and Open Access Kent State (OAKS) will be included in a documentary covering the fight for women’s suffrage in Ohio that will air regionally this month and statewide in March 2022.
Several photos from the “An Evening with Judge Florence Allen” collection will be featured in “Let Ohio Women Vote” which will air Monday, Nov. 15, on two PBS stations in Southwest Ohio – WCET PBS in Cincinnati and ThinkTV PBS in Dayton. The program will be available to all public television stations in Ohio in March for Women’s History Month.
According to the documentary’s online synopsis, “Let Ohio Women Vote tells the story of the long fight for women’s suffrage in our state – a fight which created unpredictable alliances as well as surprising connections to national events.”
The Kent State Ashtabula collection was created in 2016 by campus library director Amy Thomas and adjunct faculty Richard Dana and supported by the Ashtabula County Bar Association. The collection celebrated Allen’s life and accomplishments.
“From the beginning it was the hope that creating a publicly accessible collection of photos from the family of Judge Florence Allen would generate a renewed interest in her legal legacy, and her enduring commitment to the suffragist movement in Ohio,” said Thomas. “This documentary is a step in that direction and we are thrilled to be part of it.”
The first female judge elected to a state supreme court, Allen spent a significant portion of her life in Ashtabula County. Born in 1884, Allen earned her law degree in 1912 and was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 1922. She was appointed to the Sixth Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 and eventually became chief judge of the court, holding that post until her retirement in 1959.
Throughout her career, Judge Allen worked for women’s rights and served as a role model for women who wanted to enter the field of law. Her contributions to numerous women’s organizations and improvements in women’s status throughout the twentieth century have been recognized through dozens of honorary degrees and induction into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame.
The entire collection is available at oaks.kent.edu/allen.
Maintained by the Kent State University Libraries, the purpose of Open Access Kent State is to publicize, disseminate, and preserve the scholarly work of Kent State University scholars and affiliates in an open access environment for the purpose of shared knowledge and learning.
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