Selina Solomons

Selina Solomons (1862–1942) was a California suffragist active in the 1911 campaign which resulted in the passage of Proposition 4. Solomons wrote a first hand account of the movement titled, "How We Won the Vote in California".[1]

Selina Solomons
Born1862
Died1942
Known forCalifornia women's suffrage movement
Notable workHow We Won the Vote in California

Involvement with the California suffrage movement

Solomons worked with many notable California suffragists including Maud Younger and Lillian Coffin Harris.[2] These women all worked together in September 1911 to form an election committee.[3] This committee would serve as a coalition of a variety of suffrage groups active throughout the state.[4] Women won the vote in California in 1911.

Votes for Women Club

Solomons believed the 1896 defeat was due in part to a lack of emphasis on organizing working-class women.[5] To address this, she opened the Votes for Women Club near Union Square in San Francisco. By 1910 the club was receiving publicity in local newspapers.[6] It was initially intended to appeal to shop girls and clerks.[7] Reading materials on the suffrage movement were widely available in the club.[8] Under Solomons leadership, in 1910 the Votes for Women Club also aimed to combat the "white slave trade" in girls which was a euphemism in this era for prostitution.[9] It was in 1910 that the Mann Act was passed. In 1912 Solomons attended the California Equal Suffrage Association convention in her role as president of the Votes for Women Club.[10]

Personal life

Solomons was born in 1862 to a sephardic Jewish family with deep roots in the United States.[11] She was the daughter of Seixas and Hannah Marks Solomons.[12] Despite a humble background her father founded one of the first Jewish temples in the state of California.[13] Selina Solomons died in 1942.[14]

References
  1. Solomons, Selina. "How We Won the Vote in California". Retrieved 25 August 2019.
  2. "San Francisco Call 14 September 1911 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  3. "San Francisco Call 14 September 1911 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  4. "San Francisco Call 14 September 1911 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  5. "Selina Solomons | Jewish Immigrants in San Francisco | American Jerusalem". www.americanjerusalem.com. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  6. "San Francisco Call 24 October 1910 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  7. Elinson, Elaine (2007-03-04). "Soup, salad, suffrage: How women won their right to vote in California". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  8. Elinson, Elaine (2007-03-04). "Soup, salad, suffrage: How women won their right to vote in California". SFGate. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  9. "San Francisco Call 26 April 1910 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  10. "San Francisco Call 6 January 1912 — California Digital Newspaper Collection". cdnc.ucr.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-29.
  11. "Selina Solomons | Jewish Immigrants in San Francisco | American Jerusalem". www.americanjerusalem.com. Retrieved 2019-08-25.
  12. "Hannah Marks Solomons: Jewish Pioneer Woman and Her Distinguished Family – JMAW – Jewish Museum of the American West". www.jmaw.org. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
  13. Abel, Lauren (2018). "The California Plan: California's Suffrage Strategy and Its Effects in Other States and the National Suffrage Campaign". Voces Novae.
  14. "Selina Solomons (1862–1942) - Turning Point Suffragist Memorial". 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2021-07-02.
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