Georgette Ebanks
{{Short description|Caymanian women's rights activist (1927–2023)}}
Georgette Ebanks (19 September 1927 – 17 October 2023) was a women's rights activist in the Cayman Islands. She played an important role in the establishment of women's right to vote in the country, which was passed into law in 1958.
Biography
Born Georgette Hurlston on Grand Cayman on 19 September 1927, she was a member of the first graduating class of the Triple C School in George Town in 1947.{{Cite web|last=Staff|date=2008-12-10|title=Women's voting rights honoured|url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2008/12/10/women-s-voting-rights-honoured/|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Cayman Compass|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=2015-10-23|title=Museum exhibit commemorates Cayman icon|url=https://cnslocallife.com/2015/10/museum-exhibit-commemorates-cayman-icon/|access-date=2020-10-13|website=CNS Local Life|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|last=Staff|date=2007-06-27|title=Triple C graduation makes history.|url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2007/06/27/triple-c-graduation-makes-history/|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Cayman Compass|language=en-US}}
At age 21, Hurlston was one of the 24 signatories of the August 1948 petition demanding women's suffrage in the Cayman Islands.{{Cite web|date=January 2009|title=Education Minister Remarks at NHD|url=http://www.recruitment.gov.ky/portal/page/portal/cighome/pressroom/archive/200901/educationministerremarksatnhd|website=Cayman Islands Government}} She was driven to participate in the suffrage movement, she later said, after thinking about "the opportunity I as a young woman at the time was missing out on."{{Cite web|last=Ebanks|first=Hannah|date=Spring 2018|title=Small But Mighty: History of Women's Suffrage in the Caymen Island|url=https://issuu.com/atlasmagazine/docs/atlas_magazine_print_version_040918|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Atlas Magazine|language=en}} This first petition was rejected, and women were not granted the right to vote until 1958, by which point she had temporarily moved to the United States.
Georgette Ebanks was married to Nathan Ebanks, also of Grand Cayman.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qBhGAAAAYAAJ|title=The Cayman Islands Who's who & Business Guide|date=1989|publisher=Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce|language=en}} Back on the island, she joined the civil service as a postal worker, a role she held for nearly 30 years.{{Cite news|date=Summer 2015|title=Pensioner Profile|work=Public Service Pensions Board Newsletter|url=https://www.pspb.ky/upimages/newsletter/2015Newsletter_1484785354.PDF}}
Ebanks was the only living signatory of that original petition prior to her death. She continued to engage in community organizing and politics into her nineties, participating in talk shows on the islands.{{Cite web|date=2017-05-19|title=Endorsement by Ms. Georgette Ebanks|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka59_azu_a4|website=YouTube}}
In 2017, she was given the first Ira Thompson Award by the Cayman Islands National Museum, in recognition of her contributions to the preservation of the Cayman Islands' history.{{Cite web|last=Staff|date=2017-05-07|title=National Museum honors Georgette Ebanks|url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2017/05/07/national-museum-honors-georgette-ebanks/|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Cayman Compass|language=en-US}} An exhibit at the museum that launched in 2015, titled "Legends Gallery: Miss Georgette Ebanks," displays artifacts from her suffragist work and tells her story.{{Cite web|title=Ms Georgette Ebanks Receives First Ira Thompson Award|url=https://web.caymanchamber.ky/external/wcpages/wcnews/newsarticledisplay.aspx?articleid=3376|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce {{!}} Grand Cayman|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=November–December 2015|title=Cause for Celebration|url=http://caymanairwaysskies.customtravelmags.com/publication/?i=277993&p=72&pp=1&view=issueViewer|access-date=2020-10-13|website=Cayman Airways Skies|language=en-US}}{{Cite journal|last=Ariese|first=Csilla|url=https://www.academia.edu/40113214|title=The Social Museum in the Caribbean Grassroots Heritage Initiatives and Community Engagement - Appendix: Caribbean Museums Database|journal=Leiden University Repository|year=2019|language=en}}
Ebanks died on 17 October 2023, at the age of 96.{{cite news |title=Women's rights activist and Caymanian icon Georgette Ebanks passes |url=https://www.caymancompass.com/2023/10/19/womens-rights-activist-and-caymanian-icon-georgette-ebanks-passes/ |access-date=19 January 2024 |publisher=Cayman Compass |date=19 October 2023}}