Florida's suffrage movement cannot be told without highlighting this Pensacola woman

On Monday, third and last Pensacola area National Votes for Women Trail historical marker was unveiled at the former home of women’s rights trailblazer Celia Myrover Robinson.

Robinson helped lead the charge during the woman suffrage movement in Pensacola, where she was an editor at the then Pensacola Journal newspaper for 30 years and press chair of the suffrage section of the Florida Equal Suffrage Association.

According to Killian O’Donnell, Florida State Coordinator for NVWT, Pensacola was a leader in recognizing the significance of women's suffrage and Robinson was the face of the effort.

“It was Celia Myrover Robinson who wrote about it all, who provided the suffrage news, where the Pensacola newspaper was read statewide, and so it really kept the state motivated and energized about what was happening and that there was hope,” O’Donnell said.

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The National Votes for Women Trail, sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for woman suffrage. It consists of two parts: a database with a digital map and a program of historical markers funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

There are 210 NVWT historic markers nationwide, 14 of them are in Florida. Pensacola has three NVWT markers, the most of any city in Florida.

O’Donnell said Florida is not thought of as an active participant in the woman suffrage movement due to being one of the last states to ratify the 19th amendment in 1969, despite it being passed by Congress on June 4, 1919. However, the Pensacola area was a hotspot of activity around the issue.

Col. Frank Mayes, editor and proprietor of the Pensacola Journal, was an outspoken champion and Florida pioneer in the woman suffrage movement, according to the NVWT. He was instrumental in organizing the Pensacola Equal Suffrage League, an organization that helped educate people on woman suffrage through rallies, social and tea events and news published in the Pensacola Journal.

Both Mayes as an individual and the Pensacola Equal Suffrage League as an organization have been recognized with NVWT markers of their own.

Robinson used her role at the Pensacola Journal to become a leading voice in suffrage news. In 1914, she edited a 20-page Labor Day special equal suffrage edition that included suffrage news from not only in Pensacola but cities around the country. She contributed to and helped edit a special suffrage section in the State, a Jacksonville paper, with an all-woman editorial staff.

O’Donnell’s research shows Pensacola was a leader in recognizing the significance of women's suffrag. The mayor, the city council, local businesses and the newspaper all reached out to the Florida Equal Suffrage Association urging the organization to hold the first suffrage conference in Pensacola in December 1914.

O'Donnell said it's important to keep these stories front and center with remembrances like markers, books and newspaper articles.

“It's our duty, I think as Americans, to keep our history alive and to share the stories and ensure that we're fighting for justice and equality always,” O’Donnell said.

Christine Monlux and her family have owned Robinson’s old home since July 2019. She and her husband knew the home was built in 1901 but could not find any more historical information about it.

They did not learn about the home's ties to Robinson and the significance of Robinson's work until O’Donnell reached out to them in June 2020.

Monlux said it is powerful and inspirational knowing people will forever walk past her home, see the marker and learn about Robinson and what she did for women.

“I think what to me is so fascinating, regardless of what your political view is, this is somebody that fought for something, for equality,” Monlux said. “It's so important, it just gives me chills that she did something so powerful and helped to make a really big difference.”

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola woman Celia Robinson honored with East Hill historic marker