Helen Hunt West

This 1964 portrait of Helen Hunt West (1892-1964) by M. Bishop hangs in the Belmont Paul National Monument in Washington, DC.

“[In 1917], Helen Hunt West marched in front of the White House as a member of the militant National Woman’s Party (NWP). She drew the attention and praise of the NWP’s foremost leader, Alice Paul, who declared Helen Hunt ‘a born feminist.’ Ms. Hunt became the first woman to register to vote in Duval County in 1920 after the adoption of the 19th Amendment permitting women to vote.

Although Ms. West maintained a law practice, she was first and foremost a journalist and activist. She served as the society editor for The Florida Times-Union for 14 years, editor of the Southern Club Woman during the 1920s, and reporter for the Pensacola Journal. She lobbied the legislature at the state and national level, tackling inequities regarding women and illegitimate children and protective labor laws which potentially curtailed women’s employment opportunities. As a charter member of the Junior League organized in 1923, she helped found the Panhellenic League of Jacksonville.” – Celebrating Florida’s First 150 Women Lawyers, Florida Association for Women Lawyers.