Lansdowne will raise suffrage flag to mark Women’s History Month
Although Women’s History Month is celebrated annually across the country every March, Lansdowne Borough this Saturday will for the first time be raising the women’s suffrage flag to mark the occasion.
“I imagine this will be an intimate gathering for our first time,” Lansdowne Mayor Magda Byrne told Fideri News Network. Byrne said she will be speaking at the event, as will Borough Council President Jessica Pointer and Lansdowne resident and motivational speaker Michelle Ayala-Rivera.
The flag raising, which will begin at 1 p.m. at the Lansdowne Borough Greene, is open to the public and “all are welcome to attend,” Byrne said. The Lansdowne Borough Green is located on the corner of South Lansdowne Avenue and East Baltimore Avenue.
In a proclamation that officially named March as Women’s History Month in Lansdowne, Byrne noted that the legacy of women’s leadership is “deeply rooted” in Delaware County. That legacy has included the abolitionist Harriet Forten Purvis, who spoke and organized throughout the region, and the civic and social reformer Hannah Clothier Hull of Swarthmore, a national leader in the peace movement.
The borough’s website also highlights famous women of Lansdowne, including Tatiana Proskouriakoff, who was a pioneer of Mayan archaeology, Lucy Biddle Lewis, a Quaker peace activist, and Phyllis Little, the first female Lansdowne health officer.
“The women of Lansdowne and Delaware County continue to model civic engagement, public service, and community leadership for the next generation of girls who are watching and learning what is possible,” Bryne said in her proclamation.
Byrne said she encourages all residents of Lansdowne to:
- Recognize and celebrate the women who have served — and continue to serve — the borough with dedication and integrity;
- Highlight the contributions of women leaders in local government, schools, faith communities, small businesses and nonprofit organizations
- Support programming, in partnership with local schools and community institutions, that lifts up the stories of women in Lansdowne and throughout Delaware County; and
- Continue working together to build a borough where leadership, opportunity, and service are open to all.
