Myra Virginia Simmons facts for kids

Myra Virginia Simmons (born June 8, 1880 – died March 16, 1965) was an important leader in California. She worked hard to help women get the right to vote. This effort is called the suffrage movement. She was also a key leader of the Colored American Equal Suffrage League (CAESL). Myra Simmons was a well-known community organizer in the Bay Area of California. She led the Women's Civic and Progressive League in Oakland.

Working for Women's Right to Vote

Myra Simmons was a strong supporter of women's right to vote in California. She was the president of the Colored American Equal Suffrage League (CAESL). This group worked to make sure all women, especially women of color, could vote.

She was also involved with the Women's Christian Temperance Union. This group worked for social change. Myra often held events at her church to promote the idea of women voting.

Myra Simmons was very active in politics in the early 1900s. Her work for suffrage was often written about in the San Francisco Call newspaper. In 1911, she was the main speaker at a meeting for women of color who supported voting rights. This meeting was held at the North Oakland Baptist Church.

In 1911, women in California won the right to vote. Myra Simmons was president of the Colored Women's Suffrage League that year. On election day, she helped organize voters as a precinct captain. This meant she helped people in her local area understand how and where to vote.

Political Work After Women Could Vote

After women in California won the right to vote, Myra Simmons kept working to help them. She encouraged women to be active in politics. On November 23, 1911, The San Francisco Call newspaper reported that she was leading a new group. This group was called the "Women's Civic and Progressive League." Its goal was to teach women who could now vote how to use their new power.

In 1912, she took part in a meeting of the California Civic League. This meeting focused on improving communities. Myra Simmons represented the Alameda County Colored Americans at this event. In 1915, she was the Chairman of the Alameda County Day Committee. That same year, she was also president of the Civic Center, a club for Black women.

Her Life Story

Myra Virginia Simmons was born in Berkeley, California. Records from 1900 show that both Myra and her mother were born in California. Her father was born in Jamaica. To pay for her education, Myra worked as a house helper and sold newspapers.

In 1930, census records show she was living with her aunt in San Francisco. After many years of working for her community, Myra Simmons passed away in 1965. She was buried in Cypress Lawn cemetery in San Bruno, California.

In 2019, the National Women's History Alliance started a project. They wanted to find and recognize the grave sites of California suffragists. Myra Simmons was included in this important project.

Images for kids

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  Tombstone for Myra V. Simmons