By: Sandra Thompson
NFBPWC’s Immediate Past President

In August the East LA Montebello Club in California celebrated Women’s Equality Day at the home of Marjory Hopper.  Marjory asked me to explain why we wear yellow.  At the time I really had no idea, but thanks to some information from Barbara Bozeman and further research I came up with some of the reasons yellow is an important color in BPW.   It was suggested that I share with all of you what I came up with, so here is my presentation.

The Meaning of Yellow 

Yellow represents joy, happiness, positivity, and honor.  It makes one happier and suppresses anger and frustration.

It is the most energetic color and increases confidence.

It also represents a new dawn.

Yellow is a luminous color that attracts light, exuberance, and freshness.  We can’t help but be drawn in by its perky cheeriness.  As world history and Western symbology expert Michael Pastoureau noted in his book Yellow: The History of a Color, yellow shares a similar likeness to gold and honey, which epitomize pleasure and abundance in ancient cultures and religions.  It also signified opulence since royals would wear it in their clothing.

According to Nina Ashby, psychic and author of Simply Color Therapy, the color yellow is symbolized by the sun and represents joy, light and mental positivity.  Spiritually, the color yellow is also embodied by the solar plexus chakra-the seat of power and will.  Ashby points out our yellow is associated with the mind and the logical, left side of the brain that organizes information.

The suffragettes were inspired by their English sisters who wore white, purple and green.  When they brought it to the United States, they changed the green to gold.

Kansas was the first state to hold a referendum on women’s suffrage in 1867.  A referendum is when citizens directly vote on an issue.  While the referendum was defeated (leaving Kansas women without the vote), it inspired other western states to hold similar referendums.  Kansas eventually recognized a woman’s right to vote in local elections in 1887.  In 1867 when women were campaigning for the referendum in Kansas, they began carrying sunflowers since that is the state flower of Kansas.  This then changed the gold to yellow.

If you wore yellow roses you were for the vote for women and if you wore red roses you were against.