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Amazon recently announced the names of the company's two new towers in Nashville – Anne and Juno. While at first glance, these names may not stand out; however they each have a special significance to a major moment in American history.
Anne Dallas Dudley and Juno Frankie Pierce were both big members of the women's suffrage movement in the early 20th century. Now, their names will be recognized throughout the city they helped progress, News Channel 5 reports.
"In 1911, Anne Dallas Dudley founded the Nashville Equal Suffrage League," said historian David Ewing. "In 1914, she led the first women's suffrage parades in the south. When the march came to the Parthenon, there were 2,000 people there waiting to hear Anne Dallas Dudley speak."
Juno Frankie Pierce's impact in Tennessee was significant. According to the news outlet, she opened a school for Black girls in 1923, but she also played a major role in women's suffrage years a few years prior, speaking at the Tennessee League of Women Voters in 1920. Later that year is when Tennessee legislature ratified the 19th amendment by a single vote, giving women in the state the right to vote.
"It is fitting these two towers stand side by side, one of a white woman who led the suffrage movement, Anne Dallas Dudley, and the other the African American woman, Juno Frankie Pierce," said Ewing. "That's two women who worked side by side. I hope Nashvillians will also embrace Anne and Juno."
Divina Mims, with Amazon, said the company thought hard about the names of its new towers, saying, "It was important to us to find building names that really resonate with the community that is in line with the rich history here."
The Juno tower is still under construction while the Anne tower is already completed.