Anya Donaldson

My story begins in the rolling hills of West Virginia, with my great-grandmother Bernice. Bernice Oleta McClain was born May 12, 1919. She was the youngest of her 16 siblings. She had 12 siblings and four half siblings. Two of her siblings died before she was even born. The rest of her siblings and herself all lived on their family's farm in the hills in West Virginia. All of the children were expected to work and contribute to their large farm and its needs.

Bernice was married to Chester Burlen McClain in 1939. They had five children but the first of the five was a miscarriage that she never spoke about. Her husband's job was to work for the Weirton Steel company. During both World War II and Vietnam, she worked in a tine mill. Her mother moved in to help out with all of the children while she and her husband were at work. A second job that Bernice had, was picking apples at an orchard up the hill from their home. She would work there in the evenings to pass the time. Sometime between her last child being born and the time of her own death she moved to Canton, Ohio where most of her living relatives resided. Although Bernice did not do anything to push for the right of women to vote, because she was a baby at the time, she did take the time to exercise her right to do so. Being able to use this right that she was given was a joyful time for her because she got to use what other women fought for her to have.
 
Bernice lived to the age of ninety-two and died on October 13, 2011, in a nursing home. Her husband died three years before her at the age of 90 on January 29, 2008. They were buried in the same burial plot, Fort Steuben Burial Estates, Wintersville, Jefferson Co, OH. Today, all but one of her children are still alive, two boys and one girl ––The girl being my grandmother. To this day my grandmother uses her right as a woman to vote and participate in politics.

Clara Zetkin was born July 5, 1857, in Wiedrau Germany. She died June 22, 1933, at the age of 75. She was raised in a middle class family and later married Osip Zetkin, a revolutionary. She was a strong woman who stood up for what she believed in. She is well known for being a leader of communism. Clara was known as the "Grandmother of Communism." She led a group  called the Reichstag. Of this group, she was the oldest and longest member. She and her fellow Reichstag members fought against Hitler and the Nazi party. For women, she strongly posed for their liberation. Although she did not lead much for women's rights, she was a big influence to others because of the work she had done as a socialist against the nazis, let alone being a woman at this time. Clara also turned her time towards women's rights when she decided to push for the equality of women that worked. She had combined her beliefs in marxism and the equality of women all into one campaign. Taking on two big tasks like the big strong woman that she was.

During the time that Clara was alive, there was a lot of racism and discrimination against many different groups. In Europe, they were experiencing the lead up to World War II. At the time, women didn't have much power and, or, influence in the say of politics. Clara was a supporter and believer in communist, socialist and marxist ideologies. At the time, communism wasn't very big or popular; most people were in support of democracies, monarchies or dictatorships, which weren't necessarily wanted but that was just the way their governments were run. Her job at this times to get and earn the liberations for women; she was also the leader in the legislature of the Communist party in Germany. Most people were in favor of industrializing the cities and more people were moving to get jobs. They were buying homes that were close enough to the city but not in the city. Lots of technological advances were being made. 

At the time Clara was a socialist and she pushed for these views to be accepted. During her time in Paris, she began to move towards women's rights and getting equality for any woman that was working around the time of the preliminary movement. However, she didn't just abandon her socialist ways, she actually started to combine the two. Clara brought her marxist ideas into this by saying that the only way to have this equality between men and women was through a marxist society. Clara once said: "When the men are silent, it is our duty to raise our voices on behalf of our ideals." She also said: "What made women labor so attractive to the capitalist was not only its lower price but also the greater submissiveness of women." These quotes are very strong and carried her message with a powerful voice to other women.

In the time that we have been researching a famous woman and one within our own families I have learned not to take my right to vote for granted. It was amazing to hear about all of these liberating stories where women fought and fought to have the same rights as a man, the right to vote. Learning about what women went through, like oppression and the undermining of their capabilities. Doing this research gave me a sense of freedom that I hadn't really thought about before. So when I turn 18 I will be able to vote and use the right that these women fought for me and other females of the future to have. Being given the right is important because it is the way that we can voice our opinions and hopefully see positive changes that will better our country, individual states, and cities.

My great-grandmother was never a part of any of the protests that pushed for these rights but she was able to voice her opinions and pass on the importance of it to her children. She was born into a time at which women already had this right, so she was fortunate in never having to know the pain of being undermined and oppressed because of her sex. My grandma is always telling me that voting is a privilege that we need to take advantage of because there are people out there who are just forced into things and have little to no freedoms let alone the chance to have their input recorded and noticed by their government.