9/29 : A Timeline
The September 29th Movement was founded in 1995 at Iowa State University, when the university named a building after Carrie Chapman Catt. An alumna of Iowa State, Catt was a powerful woman suffrage leader, who used racist, xenophobic, and classist tactics, language, and writings to urge for the passage of the 19th Amendment. For several years, the Movement fought the University over the name of Catt Hall. While we remain committed to the idea that changing the name of Catt Hall, a symbol of exclusion, is an important step, we recognize that our fight has been intersectional since 1995. Therefore, our work extends beyond the building named after Catt and the woman suffrage movement and is in line with current movements aimed at ending white supremacy.
The events leading up to the University’s dedication of the building are not entirely clear, as the naming process of Catt Hall was not open to the public. The timeline below was compiled by L. Wesley Harris Jr., Ph.D and Alade McKen, Ph.D in 2016 while Ph.D candidates in the Iowa State University School of Education.
Some additional resources are available through the ISU Library Special Collections and University Archives, which have compiled several boxes of materials and a digital collection related to The September 29th Movement’s activism.