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The News Herald Thursday October 21, 1920

The News Herald Thursday October 21, 1920

Item Information

Title

The News Herald Thursday October 21, 1920

Source

The News Herald (Morganton, NC) Thursday October 21, 1920. North Carolina Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, UNC-CH

Rights

In the public domain and may be used without copyright restriction.

Type

still image

Identifier

https://exhibits.lib.unc.edu/items/show/6466

Text

NEGRO WOMEN TRIED TO REGISTER AT ASHEVILLE

Surprise Expressed That Negro Women Show More Interest in Election Than White Women

Asheville Citizen, 17th.

Following a large mass meeting of negro women held Friday night at I the Y. M. I., negro women, in large numbers appeared at the city polling places yesterday applying for registration, and more than 25 were qualified to vote in the approaching election. In the first, or court house precinct, nearly 100 negro women visited the registrar but many of them left before they even asked to be registered. However, 43 actually applied for registration and 17 were accepted. Several of them stated that an organized movement had been started among the negro women to get them to register and vote.

Much interest was taken in the appearance of negro women at the polling places yesterday and the apparent indifference of many of the white women, even the leading women of the city who are not taking an active part in the campaign, or even trying to get their names on the books.

A Republican leader last night publically boasted that his organization had been able to beat the Democrats in registering women and he named over several precincts in which he said that every Republican woman in them had been registered. He said that the Republicans plan to keep up their campaign to get the names on the books this week, until every Republican woman in the city and county is registered. They have workers who are making house to house canvasses of the city in order to get the women members of the party enthused and aroused and get them to register.

The negro women of the city have held several mass meetings during the past few weeks, it is understood, and it is stated that these meetings have instigated by local Republicans, who are anxious to see the negroes registered. At the meeting at the Y. M. I. Friday, several of the well known negro men made addresses, instructing the women what to do to register and urging them to visit the polls. It is understood that even other meetings will be held this week, in an endeavor to bring out all the negro women to register.

Democratic leaders do not believe that white Democratic women will sit idly by and see the negro women register, without themselves performing his duty. Chairman George Pennell of the county board of elections, estimated yesterday that there are 2,000 white Democratic women in Asheville and Buncombe county who have not yet registered and he is at a loss to understand why these women have not taken the trouble to register, or why their men folks have not urged them to do so.

This is the last week for registering and the registrars will not be at the polls again until next Saturday, which is absolutely the last day of the registration for the November election.