The Susan B. Anthony museum has responded to President Trump’s announcement that he is pardoning the late Suffragette, reminding him that Anthony wouldn’t have wanted to be pardoned. In other words, no fucking thank you!
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution reports that the National Susan B. Anthony Museum’s president and CEO Deborah L. Hughes posted a statement to the museum’s website, writing that Anthony would not have accepted a pardon for her conviction for illegally casting a vote. “She proclaimed, ‘I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty,’ Hughes writes. “To pay would have been to validate the proceedings. To pardon Susan B. Anthony does the same.”
Anthony was arrested for casting a vote in 1872 and fined $100. At the announcement for the pardon, Trump said “she was guilty for voting.” But instead of pardoning her, Hughes writes, “if one wants to honor Susan B. Anthony today, a clear stance against any form of voter suppression would be welcome,” citing her work supporting sex education, fair labor practices, equal pay for equal work, and more.