Philadelphia and the Justice Bell: 1915 and Today

The Justice Bell in 1915
On October 22, the Justice Bell reached Philadelphia. It was welcomed at Overbrook Station by officials from numerous suffrage organizations before being escorted downtown. That evening, the bell led the grand Festival of Light parade, where eight thousand suffragists and their supporters marched along Broad Street in a dazzling torchlight procession. With its clapper still tied to symbolize women’s lack of political voice, the Justice Bell rested on a flower-covered float pulled by one hundred young women in flowing white garments adorned with yellow daffodils. The parade ended at the Academy of Music, where thousands gathered for a mass meeting while overflow crowds held a separate rally outside.

Suffragist Spotlight
Jennie Bradley Roessing

Elected president of the Pennsylvania Woman Suffrage Association (PWSA) in 1912, Jennie Bradley Roessing became an effective leader of the state’s suffrage movement. Working closely with Hannah Patterson, she lobbied legislators and traveled throughout Pennsylvania between 1913 and 1915, supporting local organizers and delivering speeches advocating for women’s suffrage. As PWSA president, Roessing oversaw the 1915 Votes for Women campaign, which included the Justice Bell tour. She accompanied the bell during part of its journey and at times even drove the truck that carried it.

Returning in 2026

More than a century later, we returned to Philadelphia on March 26, 2026, at the invitation of the Free Library of Philadelphia. Ben Remsen, Library Supervisor of the Social Science & History Department, introduced me. After my short introduction about the Justice Bell Foundation, the film began.

The discussion after the film was invigorating as we explored the history of the Justice Bell, the women’s suffrage movement, the erasure of women’s history, and how children contribute to movements for equality, among many other issues.

I was honored to see Charlene Mires in the audience. She is Professor Emerita of History at Rutgers University and co-editor of Greater Philadelphia: A New History for the Twenty-First Century, a three-volume publication from the University of Pennsylvania Press. I recognized her because I had recently seen her on a C-SPAN program where she was joined by Howard Gillette, her co-editor, for a conversation at the American Philosophical Society.

Also in attendance was Kathie Jiang, Program Coordinator for the Association for Public Art, an organization established in 1872 by citizens who believed that art could play a role in a growing city. I was heartened by the enthusiasm of Sophia Lee, Co-Chair of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Committee on Women in the Profession, as we spoke about the possibility of working together in the future.

I am grateful to Kathleen Kelly, Justice Bell Foundation board member, and my friend Arlene Kramer, who helped with logistics, including book sales.

Continue the Journey
Our next stop is an online event on March 27, 2026. Nicole Maugle, Director of Libraries at Montgomery County Community College, and I will present our partnership project, Justice Literacy: The 3-Year Partnership Between the Justice Bell Foundation and Montgomery County Community College, at the 2026 Community College LINK online conference, Beyond Algorithms: The Human Future of Libraries.

Follow the 2026 Justice Bell Tour

Learn more about the tour on our website.

• View the Justice Bell Foundation tour page
• See the full schedule of events
• Learn more about the documentary Finding Justice: The Untold Story of Women’s Fight for the Vote
• Read the book The Justice Bell: Tracing the Journey of a Forgotten Symbol

Join us as we follow the path of the Justice Bell and explore the remarkable history it represents in Pennsylvania’s fight for women’s suffrage.

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