Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor: Vicksburg’s Carroll Hotel has place in history
Dear Editor:
It was a pleasure to see Chris Bohm’s photo feature of the Carroll Hotel, formerly located in downtown Vicksburg from 1893 to 1967. Singer Joni Mitchell almost predicted the fate of that venerable building in her 1970 song, “Big Yellow Taxi,” an ugly parking lot, still there today.
One historical event there generally unknown is the National Woman’s Party’s (NWP) visit to campaign for the 19th Amendment that members organized in the hotel in May 1917. The women decorated the Ladies’ Parlor with US flags, and unfurled the NWP’s “Great Demand” Banner, calling for women’s right to vote. At the time, in a revolutionary political move, women had begun picketing the President in the White House to win support for the proposed Amendment and Vicksburg was chosen as the key city for promoting the Amendment in Mississippi. The NWP had lobbied President Wilson to support votes for women since 1913.
In June, 1917 the NWP held a suffrage convention in the hotel, establishing a branch of the NWP with many local members. The formation of this organization caused a local storm and many women dropped out because, said one of the visiting organizers, “They are afraid of their husbands.”
Sincerely,
Bernadette Cahill
Vicksburg, MS
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