The designation of a new national monument in Washington, D.C., also will protect a historic house that is one of the oldest standing houses near the U.S. Capitol.
The new Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument will receive a presidential designation on Equal Pay Day, April 12. The announcement coincides with the date to honor the movement for women’s equality.
The iconic house, known as the Sewall-Belmont House and Museum on Constitution Avenue NE has served as the headquarters for the National Woman’s Party since 1929. The designation will help preserve an extensive archival collection that documents the history, strategies and accomplishments of the movement to secure women’s suffrage and equal rights in the United States and worldwide.
The new monument is named for former party president, activist and suffragist Alva Belmont, who was a major benefactor of the National Woman's Party, and Alice Paul, who founded the National Woman’s Party and was the chief strategist and leader in the party’s ongoing fight for women’s political, social, and economic equality.
In 1997, the National Woman’s Party became an educational organization and seeks to educate the public about the ongoing women’s rights equality movement.
