City honors local officials at 105th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment celebration

Everett’s First Lady keynote speaker at Women’s Equality Day Ceremony

By Neil Zolot

In 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote, although women of color were excluded at the time and it wasn’t until the 1960s that legislation prohibited discrimination based on race. In 1971 the Congress established Women’s Equality Day on August 26. “We honor the struggle of 1920 and the ongoing struggle for equality,” Stacy DeMaria, Everett’s First Lady, said at the Women’s Equality Day ceremony at City Hall on Tuesday, August 26. “It changed the fabric of our nation and this city, but we must remember not all women were included. Women of color faced barriers for decades. Let’s not celebrate just how far we’ve come but recognize the work to come until every woman’s voice is heard.”

“It’s an honor to work alongside some amazing women in this community,” Mayor Carlo DeMaria said while introducing his wife. “We wouldn’t be where we are as a nation without the support of strong women.”

He also humorously confessed to some relief he wasn’t the keynote speaker for the event.

While researching history to help determine how to celebrate Women’s Equality Day, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Cathy Draine and Communications Office Community Engagement & Policy Specialist Amanda Stone discovered that the first woman to register to vote in Everett after passage of the 19th Amendment was Nellie Zackular, who was the great-great-grandmother of current Ward 3 School Committee member, previously the first woman Alderman, Jeanne Cristiano. Zackular was Cristiano’s grandfather’s grandmother, tracing the family line back through Cristiano’s father, Arthur Zackular, who was also an Alderman before the City Council was reorganized into its current form. “It was great to see that historic connection,” Stone remembers.

“She had the courage and determination to register,” Cristiano said about her great-great-grandmother. “She wasn’t just registering to vote but making history by claiming her voice. This event is symbolic of the progress we’ve made.”

She also said her own political career was “possible because she [Zackular] had the courage to take that step” and told her granddaughters, “Think about the mark you can make on this world.”

Cristiano, her granddaughters and grandsons, Draine, Stone and others were dressed in white, the color suffragettes wore and still wear. “We have to commit to make sure every voice is heard and valued,” Cristiano feels.

Commemorating Women’s Equality Day takes on greater resonance in this local election year, although Draine said it wasn’t planned for that reason. Nevertheless, she noted, “We want to make sure all women know they have the right to vote.”

She also pointed out that the legislature of her native state of Tennessee took the final action in ratifying the 19th Amendment.

“We can honor the legacy of suffrage by showing up at the ballot box,” Stacy DeMaria added.