Editor's Introduction to BYU Studies Quarterly 59, number 3 by Katherine Kitterman

I study the history of women’s voting rights in Utah. For the past two years, I’ve been the historical director for Better Days 2020, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a mission to popularize Utah women’s history. The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of Utah women’s first votes, the centennial of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, and the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, all important parts of the long struggle for equal suffrage in the United States. So this anniversary year is a golden opportunity to learn about women in history who fought for equality, spoke out on a national stage, and improved their local communities. Better Days 2020 has created several resources available to anyone who wants to explore the story of suffrage in Utah.

Our team worked with local historians, community leaders, and educators to develop educational resources that highlight Utah women’s role in the national suffrage movement and feature Utah women who made a difference in other ways. We also commissioned Utah artist Brooke Smart to illustrate fifty Utah women’s advocates from history. She brought the stories of a diverse range of Utah leaders to life in vivid color, collaborating with subjects’ descendants to represent the women authentically. The illustrations are available at www.utahwomenshistory.org along with biographies, primary sources, articles, and other materials. Additionally, two books by our team members share stories of leading Utah women: Champions of Change: 25 Women Who Made History and Thinking Women: A Timeline of Suffrage in Utah.