The Roaring Twenties now 100 years ago looked vastly different than our world today.Coming after a war-torn decade where military efforts redefined women's role in society, the 1920s saw a period of cultural and social realignment.The decade brought artistic, cultural, and technological advancements in the form of jazz, new voting rights, radio, and more. But while the decade is best known for its glitz and glamour, there's a darker side to its history, too, that includes many of the same societal issues the world continues to grapple with, like racism, sexism, and wealth disparities.Take a look at these vintage photos that show society's progress, the simple pleasures we all still enjoy, and where we can look to improve in the next century to come.Suffragettes rallied for women's right to vote in America.A flag and ballot box supporting women's suffrage. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images On August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting women the right to vote. However, the law largely applied to white women, as Black women, Indigenous women, and other women of color were prohibited from voting for many decades to come.Suffragettes across the US celebrated the moment the 19th Amendment was ratified.Women wave American flags to celebrate the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Here, a photographer captured celebrations after the newly ratified 19th Amendment in August 1920.Women also broke tradition with short hairstyles, which defined the look of the Roaring Twenties.Many women opted for getting their hair "bobbed" during the decade. PhotoQuest/Getty Images With the rise in women's liberation movements came a wave of modernist short hairstyles.Luxe fabrics, flapper girl silhouettes, and art-deco style dominated the fashion world.A woman wearing a fur coat and hat in the '20s. Popperfoto via Getty Images/Getty Images In the Roaring Twenties, fashion was characterized by fringe, loose fabrics, and glamorous details. The garments differed immensely from the athleisure and street style-inspired looks that fill clothing racks today. But as fashion historians explain, trends are cyclical '20s-inspired clothes could (and will likely) make a comeback into mainstream fashion again.Swimwear became more form-fitting.Two women at a beach in the early 1920s. Universal History Archive/Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Prior to the 1920s, women's bathing suits often included stockings and full-length skirts.With an increase in popularity in water activities, the decade saw a rise in swimwear fashion styles with less fabric, making it more comfortable for wearers to swim.Wedding-dress styles from the '20s included ornate headpieces.Brides and grooms gathered in the St. George Church on Christmas Day in 1920. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images Brides Magazine reported that beaded headbands were common additions to wedding gowns during the Jazz Age, as were dresses with high necklines and cape- or flutter-style sleeves.The decade also marked a new era of automobile advancements.A woman with a Chrysler vehicle, circa 1920s. Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images The 1920s are often looked at as one of the most influential decades of automobile advancements.The Model T vehicle defined much of the 1920s it was sold until 1927.A Ford Model T descending a hill in San Francisco, circa 1921. Underwood Archives/Getty Images The Model T was sold by the Ford Motor Company 1908 until 1927, per History.com. The vehicle was the earliest effort to make a modern car that was affordable to the masses.As explained by the History Channel, the Model T was so affordable that it helped rural Americans connect to other parts of the country, which eventually led to the creation of the numbered highway system that's known throughout the US today.Long before Uber and Lyft, cabs were stylish vehicles.Cabs looked a tad different than they do now. Dick Whittington Studio/Corbis via Getty Images Here, a woman was photographed outside a cab vehicle in Los Angeles, circa 1925.The shift from rural to urban living was prominent in the 1920s.Aerial view of lower Manhattan, New York City, 1923. FPG/Staff/Getty Images The US Census Bureau reported that the 1920 census marked the first time over 50% of Americans reported living in urban areas compared to rural ones.Public transportation advancements gave people new ways to travel around cities.A London Underground entrance. Topical Press Agency/Getty Images Pictured here is a subway entrance in London, circa 1924. Transport for London reported that the city's Underground was the first subway in the world, having opened in 1863.Beyond underground trains, rail trains were also a central part of life in the 1920s.Rail trains were a popular mode of transportation in the 1920s. JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images Here, a group of employees stand in front of a train in 1920.Train travel in the 1920s was often comfortable and glamorous compared to the cramped cars that many commuters know today.Commuters on a train, circa 1920s. Historica Graphica Collection/Heritage Images/Getty Images Train travel was arguably its most glamorous from 1910 through 1950.However, much of public transportation has stayed the same over the decades, like the realities of crowded bus and subway stops.Waiting at the bus stop. Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis via Getty Images Here, a group of people wait to board a bus in Chicago around 1925.Fire engines in the 1920s looked much more ornate than today's modern, large trucks.Firefighters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, circa 1920. Underwood Archives/Getty Images Here, members of a fire department in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were photographed around 1920.Cruise ships were often extravagant.Passengers dance on the Saturnia ship. Touring Club Italiano/Marka/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Here, passengers onboard the Saturnia ship partake in an evening dance in the 1920s. The Saturnia was an Italian liner that sailed until the 1960s. Along with its sister ship, Vulcania, it was among the first large transatlantic liners driven by diesel engines, the Italian Liners Historical Society reported.Prohibition banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol within the US until 1933.People by a Prohibition sign reading, "No booze sold here." Ullstein Bild/Getty Images Prohibition went into effect in 1920 with the 18th Amendment. Until it was repealed in 1933, the law greatly impacted American culture and society, giving way to organized crime and speakeasies.Prohibition led people to create speakeasies, or secret bars where they could drink in private.A speakeasy cellar, circa 1920. Bettmann / Contributor Here, people drink at a speakeasy around 1920.In the 1920s, drugstores weren't only places to pick up prescriptions they were also soda and candy counters.Frankfurt Pharmacy in Rosemead, California, in 1927. Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images Drugstores weren't just places to grab quick convenience items like they are today; they were central gathering spots in the community. At a 1920s-era pharmacy, customers could sit at the counter and enjoy a root beer float or an egg cream.These pharmacies of a bygone era were much more ornately decorated with marble countertops and beautiful light fixtures than the fluorescent lighting-clad drugstores of today.General stores were the go-to spots for workers, food, and household items.A group of people gathered in a small general store, Utica, Mississippi, circa 1920. Underwood Archives/Getty Images General stores became less common after the 1920s, but throughout the decade, they were still popular for various goods for farmers and industrial workers, as well as equipment and food.Schools for young students around 1920 were typically large classrooms that fit as many pupils as possible.Young students in a classroom, circa 1920. JHU Sheridan Libraries/Gado/Getty Images At the time, classrooms and schoolhouses were designed to hold as many students as possible to maximize space.But in the 1920s, more educators and administrators started to support "progressive" schools that were built to house programs that were new at the time, allowing more open-air, light, and access to outdoor activities, per a 2012 report from the National Institute of Building Sciences about school design.The `1920s saw the birth of historic figures, such as Queen Elizabeth II, who was born in 1926.Queen Elizabeth II (then Princess Elizabeth) with her grandmother in 1929. Edward G. Malindine/Topical Press Agency/Getty Images Here, the Queen then known as Princess Elizabeth was pictured in 1929 at a train station, apparently on the way to the family's Sandringham Estate for Christmas.Prominent civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was also born in the 1920s.Martin Luther King Jr. delivering a speech at UC Berkeley's Sproul Plaza in 1967. Michael Ochs Archives/Stringer/Getty Images He was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta and became one of the most important figures in the Civil Rights Movement during the '50s and '60s.A hundred years ago, the Charleston was the dance of choice.The iconic Charleston dance move. Bettmann / Contributor Here, two people photographed around 1926 do the Charleston dance.The moves came from a song in the Broadway show "Runnin' Wild."A group of girls dancing in Harlem, New York City, circa 1920s. NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images Per the Charleston County Public Library, it became a mainstream dance after the musical's release in 1923 and defined the rest of the decade.Jazz music was the most popular genre of the decade.American jazz musician Louis Armstrong poses on stage with a band for the WMSB radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1920s. Transcendental Graphics/Getty Images Jazz music dominated 1920s culture in America thanks to popular musicians like Louis Armstrong.The genre was a key feature of the Harlem Renaissance, which encompassed music, literature, and art created by Black Americans.King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band in Chicago circa 1923. The band included Honore Dutrey, Baby Dodds, King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Lil Hardin, Bill Johnson, and Johnny Dodds. JP Jazz Archive/Contributor/Redferns The National Museum of African American History and Culture reported that after the end of the Civil War, the Great Migration brought over 100,000 Black Americans from a wide variety of backgrounds to Harlem, New York City.Throughout the 1920s and '30s, Black creatives across disciplines shared their art en masse, documenting what it was like to be Black in America during a period known as the Harlem Renaissance.Iconic works from the likes of Nella Larsen, W.E.B. Du Bois, Zora Neale Hurston, and more were all produced during this era.However, throughout the 1920s, Black people continued to face barriers like segregation, discrimination, and even violence.Segregated waiting rooms in Rosslyn, Virginia, circa 1928. Bettmann/Contributor In the photo above, the waiting room on the right was designated for "Colored" individuals while that on the left was for white people.Segregation was a prominent aspect of life in the US following the Civil War, especially in the South where Jim Crow laws were harshly enforced.