League of Women Voters of Hillsborough and Pasco Counties

06/12/2026

On the list: the Sulphur Springs Museum & Heritage Center (Hillsborough) – $10,000 - to host “E Pluribus Unum: Celebrating the Immigrant Heritage of Tampa Bay.”
The museum will host a national traveling exhibit, a locally curated exhibit, and a four-part lecture series that highlight the immigrant experience in Tampa Bay.

06/12/2026

Remembering those souls lost...

Upon remembering the Pulse tragedy (June 12): 10 years ago today, most of Central Florida went to sleep in one reality and woke the next morning to a horrifying new reality. The massacre at the Pulse Nightclub changed everything. This week we have been remembering the 49 lives taken from us, hearing the memories and struggles of their loved ones, and acknowledging once again the deep mental and physical trauma with which the survivors continue to live."--Kathy Schmitz, Cont. reading at link in comments below. (Kathy shown in far-right corner leading a 2016 candlelight vigil)

06/05/2026

06/05/2026

Please call ASAP! Every call matters.

Congress is back in session this week with its focus set on ways to pass the reconciliation bill.

The bill would provide BILLIONS of additional dollars to the ICE and CBP -- the very agencies terrorizing our communities.

Call your Senators and tell them to REJECT additional funding: https://www.lwv.org/take-action/tell-congress-no-more-ice-and-cbp-funding

06/05/2026

🚨 HUGE milestone: VOTE411 has helped over 2 MILLION voters get the election info they need this year - and we're not done yet! Check out VOTE411.org to stay prepared for this year's big elections, and be sure to tell a friend about it too!

06/05/2026

The 19th Amendment was passed by both houses of Congress in 1919, which began the state ratification process that would lead to the Amendment's certification in the Constitution on August 26, 1920.

But the battle for women's right to vote didn't end there. While it represented a major victory for the movement after nearly 70 years of activism, the 19th Amendment did not simply grant universal suffrage for all women.

Native American women were not considered US citizens until 1924, but until as late as 1962, individual states still prevented them from voting.

Asian American immigrant women were excluded from voting until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 allowed them to gain citizenship.

Black women faced Jim Crow-era barriers like poll taxes, voter ID requirements, and acts of violence that threatened their ability to cast a ballot until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Latina women faced literacy tests and other language-based setbacks that prevented them from voting until a 1975 extension of the Voting Rights Act.

As we celebrate this monumental achievement for women, we also recognize that only some of the women who fought for suffrage were able to exercise their newly-won right to vote. Despite being some of the movement's fiercest advocates, suffragists like Mabel Ping-Hua Lee, Zitkála-Šá, and Luisa Capetillo could not cast their first ballots in the 1920 election because of their race.

Today, we honor the women who not only fought for the 19th Amendment's passage, but also after it, as their efforts on behalf of their communities paved the way for the freedoms of all American women.

📷: Dora Lewis (seated), Abby Scott Baker (seated), Anita Pollitzer (standing), Alice Paul (seated), Florence Boeckel (seated), and Mabel Vernon (standing) conferring over ratification of the 19th Amendment at the National Woman's Party headquarters, 1919.

06/03/2026

League CEO Celina Stewart, Esq. speaks at the Chautauqua Institute about the global rise of authoritarianism in 2025.

06/02/2026

Reminder! Our Annual Meeting is Saturday, June 13th. Register today! No fee.
Doors at 10:30 am for social time.
Refreshments provided.

Thinking about joining?
Want to learn how to Empower Voters and Defend Democracy- Please come out to see how!

Registration here: https://hclwv.org/news-events/events-calendar/ #!event/2026/6/13/annual-league-meeting

06/02/2026

This Friday, June 5th, please wear orange in support of National Gun Violence Awareness Day.

The #1 cause of death for children in America is gun violence.

The #1 killer of children in America is gun violence.

When Wanda Johnson’s son Oscar was shot and killed by a BART police officer on New Year’s Day in 2009, the whole world watched. “The events were captured on camera and mobile phones by bystanders. Owners disseminated their footage to media outlets and various websites, where it went viral,” said Wanda.

Out of unimaginable pain came a purpose — to turn grief into growth by fostering healing and hope, while building stronger and more compassionate communities.

“My journey has taken me from classrooms to courtrooms, from community vigils to national stages — but wherever I go, my message remains the same: Love is stronger than hate, and change begins with us.”

Wanda is also an Everytown Survivor Network fellow and grantee. Wanda started the Oscar Grant Foundation not only in memory of her son, but in honor of every life touched by injustice and every family determined to heal and rebuild.

Join Wanda and for Oscar, and all those who should still be with us today, on National Gun Violence Awareness Day, June 5.

06/02/2026

Ruskin Friends - FYI

Due to construction, we won't be able to hold Early Voting at the SouthShore Regional Library this year. But we will have 27 Early Voting locations to choose from, including a new site at the SouthShore Community Resource Center. Visit VoteHillsborough.gov for more information.