Amelia "Mimi" Himes Walker (July 24, 1880 - July 19, 1974) was an Americansuffragist andwomen's rights activist. Walker was one of theSilent Sentinels who picketed outside of theWhite House for women's right to vote. She was arrested in 1917 and sentenced to 60 days in theworkhouse. After women secured the right to vote, Walker continued to honor the efforts of the suffragists. She also promoted theEqual Rights Amendment (ERA).
Walker was born inNew Oxford, Pennsylvania on July 24, 1880 into a family ofQuakers and grew up there with five siblings.[1][2] She graduated fromYork Collegiate Institute in 1898.[2] Walker then went toSwarthmore College where she metAlice Paul who was also attending the school.[2] Walker also became a member ofKappa Kappa Gamma and graduated from Swarthmore in 1902.[1] She had also met her future husband, Robert Hunt Walker, at Swarthmore.[1] In June of 1910, the couple were married in New Oxford and planned to move toBaltimore where Robert worked.[3]
The couple moved into Robert's family home, Drumquhazel, outside ofTowson, Maryland.[1] They raised three children there and the home also served as a place for entertaining and forsuffragists, such as her close friend,Edith Hooker, to meet.[1] Walker joined theNational Woman's Party (NWP) at some point before 1917.[2] The suffragists, including Walker, called on PresidentWoodrow Wilson to urge theMaryland Legislature to include women's suffrage during the extra session in April of 1917.[4]
On July 14, 1917, Walker, Hooker and several other women were arrested for "obstructing traffic" while picketing for women's suffrage outside of theWhite House.[1] When brought before the court, Walker said to the judge, "President Wilson said in 1915 that he believed in woman suffrage. We are only asking him, by the silent appeal of our banners, to convert his words into deeds. Why should he expect us to help him establish democracy inEurope when he is not willing to grant us democracy in the United States?"[5] She and the other 15 women were sentenced to 60 days in theworkhouse or to pay a $25 fine.[5] Her husband attempted to pay the fine in order to release her, but Walker refused and said she would complete her prison sentence.[5] The women were eventuallypardoned by President Wilson not long after their arrest due to public outcry.[2][6] However, the women refused the pardon and went on to the workhouse.[7] For her arrest, she was later awarded the "Jailed For Freedom" pin.[1] She later donated the pin to theSmithsonian Museum in 1959.[1]
After women earned the right to vote, Walker continued to support women's rights, including supporting theEqual Rights Amendment (ERA).[2] Walker continued to work with the NWP and pressed for an amendment every year since 1923.[8] Walker served as a president of the Maryland branch of NWP.[7] She unsuccessfully ran for office in 1930, though she was the first woman to run for a seat in theMaryland House of Delegates fromBaltimore County.[9][2]
Walker and her family moved toFlorida after her husband's death in 1948.[9] She worked as a lecturer atRollins College.[9] Walker also continued to travel and attend events remembering women's suffrage and promoting the ERA.[10][11] Walker died in her home inWinter Park, Florida on July 19, 1974.[9]
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