It’s been 100 years since women across America were guaranteed the right to vote in the U.S. To celebrate? What better than an elite team of all-female skydivers jumping out of a plane. Wait, what? Yup – the 11 members of the Highlight Pro Skydiving Team are doing their thing to honor the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment being passed (which guarantees women’s suffrage).
These highly skilled skydivers have been doing a series of jumps around the country, the latest being yesterday in Nashville, Tennessee – that’s the date in 1920 that Tennessee became the final state to ratify the 19th Amendment.
“It was a moment in history that we wanted to highlight,” explains Melanie Curtis, co-captain of the Highlight team. “We’re using skydiving to capture attention and then bringing that attention to social justice initiatives, to women’s rights, to gender equality, to equality at large.” The events were supposed to be big and draw large crowds, but the team decided to livestream their jumps instead after the pandemic hit, that way the world could still watch from home.
- At their events, team members jump carrying flags with messages like “equality can’t wait” and “shall not be denied” and they wear purple, white and gold uniforms – the colors of the women’s suffrage movement.
- The Highlight team’s jumps can be watched on their Facebook page.
Source: Good Morning America