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By Jill Moss GreenbergJill MossGreenbergGenerationsFor JusticeFor generations,Maryland womenhave taken leadershiproles in everyarea of civil, humanand legal rights. Fromthe suffrage and abolitionmovements, to the fight forequal opportunities in areasas diverse as the workplace,education,credit rightsand domesticviolence, theyhave joinedforces toopen doorsfor futuregenerations.Their efforts,as strong asever, continuetoday.Perhaps the most recognizedwomen’s movement inMaryland history was thesuffrage movement, whenwomen banded togetherto fight for their right tovote. Interestingly, in 1920,when Congress voted to givewomen this right, Marylandfailed to ratify the suffrageamendment. The Marylandlegislature defended itsdecision with reasoning suchas: “Women are too stupidto vote.” “They will votelike their husband anyway.”And, “It is not God’s plan.”Imagine saying that today toSenator Barbara A. Mikulskior former U.S. MaritimeCommissioner and memberof Congress Helen DelichBentley, both of whom serveon the Honorary Board ofthe Maryland Women’s HeritageCenter. Most of today’sMarylanders, both femaleand male, could not imaginethat Maryland did not ratifythe amendment for women tohave the right to vote. Someyears later, after the amendmentwas already adopted,Maryland did affirm women’sright to vote.Many of the achievementsof Maryland womenin fighting for equality areunknown within our Stateand throughout the nationand need to be known. Forexample, the Maryland Commissionfor Women and theWomen Legislators of Marylandworked successfully toget relevant unpaid workexperience—so often thedomain of women—countedfully with paid work experiencewhen applying for a jobwith the State of Maryland.The Maryland Commissionfor Women, then chaired byShoshana S. Cardin, wasin the national forefront ofthe fight for credit rightsfor women. The Commissiongot a credit company, CommercialCredit, to pay for thepublication of a brochure addressingthe issues. The brochurewas called, “Women:Where Credit Is Due” andwas distributed throughoutthe United States. Shoshanaalso testified before Congressand appeared on the “Today”Show. These Marylandefforts were instrumentalin the passage of the EqualCredit Opportunity Act.Today’s girls and womenoften take for granted theireveryday rights, but theserights would not exist wereit not for the tireless effortsof past Maryland womenand those men who havebeen their allies. This articlespotlights a few of the courageousand inspirationalwomen throughout Maryland’shistory who fought forand achieved justice.Margaret Brent (0-), made history as thefirst woman to ask for theright to vote, as America’sfirst female attorney and asa prominent landowner. Ata time when women werenot allowed to own property,Brent and her sister owned70 acres in St. Mary’s City.Brent chose not to marry,and therefore did not have toturn her property over to aman. As an attorney, Brentrepresented communitymembers before the court ofthe Common Law. The GovernorLeonard Calvert appointedher as executor of hisestate, a role unheard of forwomen at the time. After asucceeding in this role, Brentpetitioned for the right tovote, but it was not granted.elizabethLange (-2), ablack Haitianimmigrantalso knownas MotherMary Eliza-0Focus on Women Magazine