Woman of the Week: Lila Meade Valentine

Women’s equality has been, and continues to be a major issue in today’s world; it is a hot topic of discussion and a relatively predominant subject matter. We all know (and salute) the big names associated with female activism, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Sandra Day O’Connor, Madam C.J. Walker, etc. but what about the women who are not as well known? What about those who worked locally in and around the Richmond area?

Lila Meade Valentine was a native Richmonder who married into the Valentine family when she wed Benjamin Batchelder Valentine in 1886. Although she had no children of her own, she was deeply committed to fighting for the children of Richmond and their right to be educated properly. Unfortunately, during this time Virginia’s education system was prejudiced against the poor, African Americans and females, making it especially difficult for them to receive quality educations. In an attempt to correct these injustices, Lila and several other activists formed the Richmond Education Association (REA), which purpose was to raise money for a new high school, develop programs to train teachers, increase salaries for teachers and in general help children obtain a better education.

On top of education reform, Lila also worked vigorously to restructure healthcare by helping found the Instructive Visiting Nurse Association of Richmond (IVNA). The IVNA’s primary focus was low-income citizens of the area and ensuring they had access to basic health-care services. She later got involved with the American woman suffrage movement and cofounded the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. Between 1912 and 1913 Lila spoke to more than a hundred government officials and state organizations, eyes set on getting women a voice in politics. The Nineteenth Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, which granted women the right to legally vote thanks to groups like the Equal Suffrage League and women like Lila.

Lila Meade Valentine passed away on July 14, 1921. We continue to recognize her work and the work of women like her.