KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — To celebrate the centennial anniversary of the Women's Suffrage Movement, Knoxville City Council added an honorary name to a section of Market Street leading up to the Tennessee Woman Suffrage Memorial.
The section of Market Street between Union Avenue and Clinch Avenue is now named the Woman Suffrage Centennial Plaza.
The name change was originally proposed by Chairperson Lauren Rider and Councilmember Gwen McKenzie. They wanted to change it to 'Suffrage Way.' After realizing that 'Way' is reserved for private drives, the council decided to change the honorary name to 'Suffrage Square.'
They later changed it again to Woman's Suffrage Centennial Plaza.
On Wednesday, Mayor Madeline Rogero and others commemorated the naming. Two statues are at the plaza that celebrate key players in Tennessee that made the passing of the 19th Amendment possible.
A century has passed since women across the U.S. banded together and worked to ensure the passage of the 19th Amendment, allowing women to vote in elections.
Tennessee played a major role in the historic movement after Harry Burn, an East Tennessee representative, changed his mind and submitted the final vote to ratify it. He originally planned to vote against the amendment, until he received a letter from his mother.
Burn surprised his colleagues by voting on the side of the suffragists, allowing women to vote in elections.