| The Fight for Voting Rights
Group toured Project XV Museum
History and technology melded together in telling the story of voting firsts in Illinois. A group of league members toured the Project XV Museum in El Paso on Saturday, August 23. The museum details the life of David Strother who was the first person of color to cast a vote in Illinois in 1870. Strother was a barber in El Paso.
“David Strother's historic first vote by a black man is an important part of America's history. The Project XV museum exhibits recognizing this event are of surprisingly high quality for a small town,” said Alexis Kalish. “The history of the Legacy Building and its underground store spaces, where Mr. Strother located his barbershop, is very interesting. I especially enjoyed the social aspects of a person of color moving to and working in El Paso, where he was accepted and respected. The experience of "sitting" in the barbershop via AI was a blast!”
Through the use of a computer-generated imagery, David Strother told his life story leading up to voting. Visitors got to walk into Strother’s actual barber shop, plus read how he was a member of the El Paso community. Then with the aid of virtual reality you could go back to 1872 in his barber shop. The exhibit also shows the journey of voting rights in the United States, different ballot boxes through the years, and gives children an opportunity to vote.
Photo left: Beth Porter trying on Votes for Women banner. |