A Hundred And Four Years Ago
The life of Febb Burn—feminist, suffragist and mother who changed history.
ALSO IN THIS POST…
DNC women’s complicated dual mandate
A data deep-dive into the world’s female heads of state (and a book tip!)
The Taliban’s literal silencing of women
In downtown Knoxville, Tenn., on the corner of Clinch Avenue and Market Square, a stone’s throw from what used to be the federal courthouse, a statue of a man and a woman will occasionally attract the attention of a curious pedestrian.
The man is sitting on a chair, his posture relaxed. He’s clad in a suit and tie. The woman stands next to him, one of her hands perched, somewhat protectively, on his shoulder; the other clasping a small bouquet of flowers. Both share a look of stern resolve.
Her name is Febb. His name is Harry. A mother and son who together, 104 years ago this month, changed American history.
Febb—or Phoebe Ensminger Burn—was a woman ahead of her time. She was born in 1873 near Niota, Tenn., but little is known about her childhood. What we do know is that she graduated from U.S. Grant Memorial University—now Tennessee Wesleyan—at a time when academia was a man’s domain and not something to be squandered on the meek minds of the fairer sex.
She read vociferously—three newspapers a day, by some accounts—and harbored a deep and constant resentment about the fact that society considered her intellect and opinions to be inferior to those of a man.
As a young woman, despite being well-versed in the political feuds and international relations of the day, Febb didn’t have the right to vote.
After college, she worked as a teacher and married James Lafayette Burn, a stationmaster. Together the pair ran the family farm and had four children, but in 1916 James died of typhoid fever, leaving Febb to raise three of their children alone. A daughter, Sara, had died two years earlier.
Mourning the losses, Febb dedicated her life to being a homemaker and raising children. But it wasn’t just any child she was raising. For it was her oldest son Harry T. Burn—immortalized by the Burn Memorial in a buzzy part of Knoxville—who would end up casting the deciding vote that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, ending suffragists’ long crusade that won women the right to vote.
Ever since I first stumbled upon the story of Harry and Febb a few years ago while doing research for my book, I’ve been fascinated by what happened on that day in Tennessee. I’ve been intrigued by Febb—who she was and how she changed America. And what’s consistently bothered me is that this remarkable woman was never written into history. Hell, as of today she’s not even got a Wikipedia page. So I was thrilled by a commission from The Persistent to write about Febb on the occasion of this all-important 104th anniversary of the 19th Amendment. You can read the full piece here and I’d be delighted if you considered subscribing, too.
Apropos of The Persistent, my friend Holly Baxter wrote a brilliant, astute dispatch from the DNC last week. “The burden on the speakers at a women-focused [DNC] event during the 2024 election is something of a double bind,” Holly argues. “Bring the enthusiasm for the potentially historic event of the U.S. finally naming a woman president —but also paint a dystopian vision of an America without reproductive freedom, perhaps even with bans on contraception and IVF, and the resultant consequences.” It’s a great analysis of how “Women’s Events” at the RNC and DNC differ, and what that can tell us about the state of American politics. You can read the whole thing here.
How Many Women in Your Lifetime?
Also on the topic of the DNC and Kamala Harris, The Washington Post last week published this, fun’s probably not the word, but certainly interesting infographic and deep-dive aimed at raising awareness of the dire gender imbalance in political leadership around the world.
Here in the U.S. so many of us have been touting this as a historical moment: the prospect of a first woman president, and a woman of color at that. But how does that fit into a global context, you might ask. According to The Post’s analysis, of the world’s 20 largest economies, the United States is among only seven yet to have a woman as its head of state or government.
The Post also points out that if you are over the age of 65, you were born in a time when no woman had led any country as president or prime minister anywhere. (That’s not counting monarchs, of course.)
The piece provides plenty of trivia (the first woman leader was Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka—then Ceylon—in 1960, followed by India’s Indira Gandhi and then Israel’s Golda Meir) and features a nifty little tool that shows how countries have had women as heads of state or government during your lifetime. For me it’s 15.
Read the piece and dig into the data here.
It also reminded me of a brilliant book that came out in 2023: WOMEN WHO WON. In it, Ros Ball chronicles the lives, and celebrates, seventy women leaders from the last century. “Politicians from around the globe who fought for election in a man’s world… and won,” as Ros writes.
It’s beautifully illustrated and, yes, Kamala Harris is in there. But so are many women who you’ve probably never heard; women who paved the way for what might be about to happen in November here in the U.S. I read it cover-to-cover earlier this year but I keep it on my desk and frequently find myself picking it up to check a reference or fact. Highly recommend!
Drowning Women’s Voices Out
Finally last week, brutal new laws came into effect in Afghanistan aimed at cracking down on the sound of a woman’s voice in public.
Reading and writing about this from New York City feels like reading and writing about an entirely ludicrous dystopian world—the product of tasteless fiction. And yet, here we are.
CNN, citing a government spokesman, reported that the laws were issued on Wednesday after they were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. They cover aspects of everyday life like public transportation, music, shaving and celebrations.
“Among the new rules, Article 13 relates to women: It says it is mandatory for a woman to veil her body at all times in public and that a face covering is essential to avoid temptation and tempting others. Clothing should not be thin, tight or short,” CNN reported. “Women are also obliged to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim males and females to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting, or reading aloud in public. It is forbidden for women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa.”
In 2021, when the Taliban seized power, it set up a ministry for the “propagation of virtue and the prevention of vice,” according to The Associated Press. These new laws represent the first formal declaration since the ministry was established.
Last month, the United Nations’ Mission in Afghanistan issued a report warning that some of the Taliban’s new edicts constitute a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms and “contribute to a climate of fear and intimidation among segments of the population.”
Over the summer and into the fall I’ll be taking a few weeks off here and there. I won’t be publishing next Monday, September 2, which is Labor Day here in the U.S. But I’ll be back in your inboxes September 9.
Thank you so much for being a loyal reader!
Josie
Ps: As always, a last shameless request. If you’ve read WOMEN MONEY POWER, the book, or listened to the audiobook, I would hugely appreciate it if you could take just thirty seconds to post a review or rate it on Amazon using this link. If Goodreads is your jam, that’s just as great, and you can leave a review or rating here. Thank you so much for your support!