The Denver Public Library’s Western History and Genealogy Department has put out a call for donations to help document the day more than 100,000 people turned out for the Women’s March on Denver.
Acquisitions librarian Jamie Seemiller said last week that the library has gotten a lot of positive response since posting the request on Facebook on Jan. 22, the day after the march. By Wednesday morning, the library’s post had reached 25,000 people with more than 200 shares on Facebook.
The library has already received several donations including a symbolic sash with “Suffragettes” printed on it, paying tribute to women who organized and agitated until the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1920, giving women the right to vote.
Pink cat-eared “pussyhats” and 20 to 30 posters have been contributed, but the library is open to collecting more items on a case-by-case basis. Seemiller said she would like to have a large collection of photos of marchers holding their signs during the rally.
Although the material collected might be turned into future exhibit, Seemiller said the library is documenting the Women’s March for primarily for research and historical purposes.
“We’re documenting the event material so that in the future, people can research it if they want to and will know what the march was all about 50 years later, and then we can show them artifacts,” she said.
History Colorado, too, is documenting the march and is working with the Colorado State Library and the department of Elementary Education and Literacy at Metropolitan State University of Denver to develop related civics curriculum for kindergarten through fifth grade students.
On the day of the march, the museum collected oral histories of attendees to help document the event. History Colorado is not soliciting contributions, but is working with a donor to curate hats, posters and photographs from the march.
“The Crusade for Justice,” led by Chicano activist Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, and “We Will Ride,” led by disability rights activist Laura Hershey are two other local movements the Western History department has collected material on.
“We try to capture what is happening in Denver and we have a lot of city materials,” Seemiller said. “We put that (post) out because it’s right at our doorstep and we have gotten a very large response. We’re pretty excited.”
Interested in contributing to Women’s March on Denver archive?
Contact the Western History and Genealogy Department at history@denverlibrary.org or call 720-865-1821. The Western History collection also has a general donor packet with more information: Donor Packet