The popular annual Bookmarks & Landmarks series, a collaboration between member organizations of SoCoCulture.org and the King County Library System, this year will focus on the United States’ checkered history of extending voting rights to different populations.

Every Bookmarks & Landmarks program pairs a local historical site in South King County with a book that covers the same topic that the site interprets.

Bookmarks & Landmarks kicks off its 2020 season with a visit by author Shanna Stevenson to the historic Neely Mansion at 11 a.m. March 21. Stevenson will talk about her book, “Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices.”

This event commemorates the 2020 centennial of the signing of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote in the United States.

Members of the general public are encouraged to sign up for this free program on the KCLS website at kcls.bibliocommons.com and to check out a copy of the book to read ahead of time.

The other two programs in the Bookmarks & Landmarks series also will deal with voting rights issues.

The second program takes place on April 25 at the Kent Historical Museum. Ahead of time, people are asked to go to the library and check out any or all of Congressman John Lewis’s award-winning trilogy of graphic novels called March, which tell the story of his work alongside Dr. Martin Luther King and others during the Civil Rights Movement to secure voting rights for Black Americans.

Then on April 25, the Kent Black Action Commission and the Greater Kent Historical Society will co-host a program at the Kent Historical Museum to talk about these “comics with a conscience” and to discuss the status of voting rights from that decade to this.

The final event will take place at the new SeaMar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture, at 9635 Des Moines Memorial Drive, in South Park. For that discussion, check out and read “The Challenge of a Latino Immigrant in the Trump Era” ahead of time, then come to discuss.

There will be a program for young adults on May 20 from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and then another program for adults on May 27, also from 6:30 to 8 p.m.

All Bookmarks & Landmarks programs are free, but advance registration is requested via the KCLS website. To learn more about each of these programs visit sococulture.org/calendar/ or email info@sococulture.org.

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BOOKMARKS & LANDMARKS ELECTION EDITION 2020

You already know that 2020 is a presidential election year. It’s also the centennial of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed women the right to vote. That’s why SoCoCulture and the King County Library System are partnering to host book discussions about why other generations of Americans fought for the right to have a voice in the way our government is run.

What does that means for us today? Read these books ahead of time, then join the discussion at three heritage sites in South King County.

Book: “Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices”

Date: Saturday, March 21, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Location: Neely Mansion, 12303 Auburn Black Diamond Road, Auburn

In 1883, women in Washington Territory briefly had the right to vote. But when a territorial court decision took that franchise away from them, suffragettes organized and embarked on a decades-long battle to win back that right. And when they succeeded in 1910, the news revitalized the nationwide movement for women’s suffrage.

Read “Women’s Votes, Women’s Voices” ahead of time, then come to the Neely Mansion on March 21 to discuss the book with author Shanna Stevenson. Registration begins Feb. 21 – go online at kcls.org or call your local library.

Book: March (Books 1, 2 and 3)

Date: Saturday, April 25, 10:30 a.m.-noon.

Location: Kent Historical Museum, 855 E Smith St., Kent

Congressman John Lewis shares his early days in the Civil Rights Movement in the compelling graphic novels March 1, March 2 and March 3. Nonviolent protesters organized these famous marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, to raise awareness about the obstacles faced by black voters. They were met with brutal opposition, but their persistence ultimately led to the signing of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Read through these “comics with a conscience” ahead of time, then come to the museum on April 25 to discuss the status of voting rights from that decade to this.

Registration begins March 25 – go online at kcls.org or call your local library.

Book: “Stranger: The Challenge of a Latino Immigrant in the Trump Era”

Dates: Wednesday, May 20, 6:30-8 p.m. – young adult program; Wednesday, May 27, 6:30-8 p.m. – adult program

Location: SeaMar Museum of Chicano/a/Latino/a Culture, 9635 Des Moines Memorial Drive, Seattle

Born in Mexico, Emmy-winning journalist and Univision anchor Jorge Ramos has lived in the United States for 35 years and become a U.S. citizen. But in the 2015 presidential campaign, he was thrown out of a press conference by then-candidate Donald Trump. In Stranger, Ramos talks about electoral politics, the predicament of DREAMers, and the role of journalism.

Read this book ahead of time, then come to the museum on the selected date (May 20 for students; May 27 for adults) to discuss Ramos’ ideas about citizenship and voting rights in 2020.

Registration begins April 15 – go online at kcls.org or call your local library.