Women received the right to vote in Virginia in 1920. You may have heard of the Woman Suffrage Movement. Women in each state had to fight for their rights and that includes the women of Virginia. Huntington’s Disease does not discriminate. It is a genetic disease that affects women and men equally and only one parent has to have the gene to pass it on to their children. Learn more on this edition of Sisterhood of the Second Act.
Woman Suffrage
Women both black and white fought for the right to vote in the Virginia Women Campaign for the Vote. Mari Julienne has worked at the Library of Virginia since 1999, primarily as an editor of the Library’s ongoing Dictionary of Virginia Biography project. She was the co-curator of the Library’s 2020 exhibition, We Demand: Women’s Suffrage in Virginia, and co-author of “The Campaign for Woman Suffrage in Virginia.”
Roanoke area women played a part in the suffrage movement. Learn more about Lillie Barbour, Millie Paxton, Lucinda Terry, Annie Barna Whitner by clicking these links. More biographies can be found at the We Demand webpage as well as the Dictionary of Virginia Biography webpage
She tells us the story of some of the women who championed this fight, women who are often omitted from the history books. A special thank you to Mari Julienne and the Library of Virginia for allowing us to use the images in this post and the ones you will see during the show.
Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a rare, inherited illness that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. Symptoms of HD often first appear when people are in their 30s or 40s.
There is help in the Roanoke Region for families impacted by HD. Dr. Bonnie Hennig-Trestman is the Director of the Carilion Clinic Huntington’s Disease Program and an Assistant Professor, at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Department of Basic Science Education.
The Carilion Clinic Huntington’s Disease Program helps both people with HD and their families. It also helps individuals decide if they want to get genetic testing to determine if they have inherited the gene and get the test if they decide to do so.
George Huntington, M.D., first described the disease in the late 1800s. The progressive brain disorder is caused by a single defective gene on chromosome 4. This defect is “dominant,” meaning that anyone who inherits it from a parent with Huntington’s will eventually develop the disease.
The defective gene codes the blueprint for a protein called huntingtin. This protein’s normal function isn’t yet known. The defective protein leads to brain changes causing abnormal involuntary movements, a severe decline in thinking and reasoning skills, and irritability, depression and other mood changes.
Learn more on this edition of Sisterhood of the Second Act.
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Sisterhood of the Second Act (SSA) is a production of New Moon Creative Media, LLC for the New Moon Network. SSA is a lifestyle talk show for women entering a new phase of their lives. These women may be changing careers. Retirement might be on the horizon. They may be caring for elderly parents while raising their own children. They could also be experiencing an empty nest for the first time in decades. Whatever their situation, Sisterhood of the Second Act provides trustworthy information they can use to create a joyful, prosperous second act.
Show Notes
We Demand: Library of Virginia: Women’s Suffrage in Virginia
Dr. Bonnie Hennig-Trestman Carilion Clinic Huntington’s Disease Program
