Tag Archives: Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony’s 200th Birthday in 2020, plus other suffrage centennial notes!

It is Susan B. Anthony’s birthday on February 15th.

Susan B. Anthony: The first militant suffragist on Vimeo.

A big annual fundraiser to benefit the Susan B. Anthony is scheduled to celebrate Susan B. Anthony’s 200th birthday with a special dinner and fundraiser on February 12, 2020 at the Joseph A. Floreano Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, NY.  Dinner is at 6 PM with a reception and cash bar.

The evening will feature the keynote speaker, Tena Clark, the author of Southern Discomfort. She is also a Grammy award-winning musician and composer. Celebrating Susan B. Anthony’s birthday is a tradition that started in Anthony’s lifetime. Reserve your table or individual seats.

On March 2, 2020 at 7 pm, there will be a reading of the play, Susan B., at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in downtown Berkeley, California. The reading will open the Bay Area Women’s Theatre Festival. This will be a three-month event (a couple of shows per weekend), and the Susan B. reading will be the opening event, along with a reception. More information available later on this SuffrageCentennials.com site.

Check out the blog devoted to Inez Milholland, the US suffrage martyr. It has updates, including news, including the renaming of Mt. Discovery in the Adirondacks to Mt. Inez. InezMilholland.wordpress.com was launched in 2016 to accompany the 100th anniversary of the death of Inez Milholland during a lecture tour she made to theWest coast of the US. Make checking the news on InezMilholland.wordpress.com part of your regular schedule.

Are you planning an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution? Consider building a program around Inez Milholland. There’s a 15-minute documentary film from Wild West Women to show; plus a Gazette tabloid available from the Women’s History Alliance (check their web store), and many souvenirs and related memorabilia also available from the Women’s History Alliance web store.

With resources like this available, your role would be to set a date, find a location, get out the publicity, and coordinate the resources that are available now. It’s a terrific program for an organizational fundraiser.

Follow SuffrageCentennials.com during 2020.

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A New Play: “Susan B” by Daphne White Highlights Suffrage Conflicts

“Susan B.” Goes Behind the Scenes and Behind the Masks

by Daphne White

“Susan B,”, the play, is a no-holds-barred exploration of the epic battles, lies and betrayals that took place between the early suffragists and the male power brokers of their time. And in a brief flash-forward to the present, the play also asks: How much has really changed in the power dynamic between men and women?

“Susan B.” is a finalist in the 2020 Julie Harris Playwright Award Competition, and is available for readings and productions during the Suffrage Centennial.

While the play is a work of historical fiction, it is based on two years of my painstaking research. Some of the scenes are taken from condensed transcripts of actual events — Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman” speech; Stanton’s appeal to the New York State constitutional committee; the contentious 1869 American Equal Rights Association meeting; and Anthony’s 1873 “voting while female” trial. But other scenes are imagined, showing highly personal interactions that were never recorded.

In addition to well-known figures such as Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone and Frederick Douglass, the play introduces Phoebe Harris Phellps, the abused wife of a famous Boston abolitionist and state Senator. Phellps was a “fugitive wife” who came to Anthony for help, after her husband imprisoned her in a mental institution for two years. The play also explores Anthony’s little-known relationship with Anna Dickinson, one of the most famous lecturers of her day, who was known as “America’s Joan of Arc.”

Frederick Douglass had a complicated and contentious history with Anthony, and that is also explored in the play. Douglass was no fan of Sojourner Truth, either, and she had her own issues with Douglass. Everything was fraught; nothing was simple or straightforward. This story is both messy, and eerily contemporary. Like today’s women, the suffragists were forced to make difficult decisions under incredibly harsh conditions. They were far from perfect, yet they never looked back, and they rarely apologized.

“Failure is impossible,” Anthony said in her last public speech. Yet she knew, even as she lay dying, that she would not succeed in her lifetime. And as the play suggests in its last few minutes, women have still not reached the “success” part of their story.

A special appeal from Daphne White: If you would like to stage a reading or production of Susan B. please contact me at Daphne@DaphneWhite.com. And if you know anyone at all in the theater world, I would very much appreciate a connection. I hope to see this play produced in as many cities as possible during the 2020 centennial celebrations.

NEWS FLASH: On March 2, 2020 at 7 pm, there will be a reading of Susan B. at Berkeley Rep’s Peet’s Theatre in downtown Berkeley, California. The reading will open the Bay Area Women’s Theatre Festival. This will be a three-month event (several shows per weekend). “Susan B” will be the opening event, along with a reception. None of the actual event dates have been released yet, but once tickets are available, the information will be available on SuffrageCentennials.com

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The Tale of the Fourth of July Co-conspirators for your suffrage centennial event!

Declaration_

Gather your friends around and help them picture the scene. Susan B. Anthony is ready to move in with Matilda Joslyn Gage, Sara Andrews Spencer, Lillie Devereau Blake, and Phoebe W. Couzins to crash the July 4th, 1876 centennial event in Philadelphia. The platform is filled with dignitaries and the co-conspirators wait until after the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Here is what happened: Anthony marched up to the platform filled with centennial officials. She formally presented the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States, an update on the declaration from back in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York.

The document sent the message that the nation must not turn its back on the unfinished American Revolution by denying women equality and the right to vote.

After delivering the proclamation, Anthony and others distributed copies to the crowd and left the centennial hall. THE RESULT: Pandemonium. General Howley, chairman, shouted for order to be restored.

THE OUTCOME: Suffrage activists held their own independence celebration in Philadelphia.

HOLD YOUR OWN CELEBRATION THIS YEAR AS YOU PLAN FOR THE 2020 NATIONAL CENTENNIAL OBSERVATION OF VOTES FOR WOMEN.

IN 2020, AMERICAN WOMEN WILL HAVE BEEN VOTING FOR 100 YEARS.

The July 4th Co-conspirators

AUDIO ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED on July 4, 1876 at the Fourth of July national centennial, as told by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in her memoir, Eighty Years and More. Read by Amelia Bowen for Suffrage Wagon News Channel.

NOW, LET’S FIRE UP THE BARBEQUE GRILL in 2018 and have fun!
Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow Suffrage Centennials on our Facebook page, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event.

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Annual fundraising luncheon at Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, NY

We’re off to the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in Rochester, New York! on Vimeo.

Valentine’s Day or February 14th in 2018 is the bicentennial of the date Frederick Douglass chose as his birthday, and it’s a day before Susan B. Anthony’s 198th birthday on the 15th.

Elaine Weiss will be the keynote speaker on February 14th for the 2018 Susan B. Anthony birthday luncheon at the Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, NY. Weiss, a journalist and author of  The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, will highlight the dramatic climax of the woman’s suffrage movement. The book will be published by Viking in March 2018. Weiss has presented at the Library of Congress, National Archives, Smithsonian Museum of American History, Hull House, the Chautauqua Institution, and many libraries, historical societies, and universities.

Individual seats and group tables may be reserved by calling 585-279-7490 x 10. Contact Lesia Telega at 585-279-7490 x 12 for more information.

Suffrage CentennialsFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event.

 

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We’re off to women’s suffrage centennial events at Susan B. Anthony house in Rochester, New York

Follow the Spirit of 1776 wagon to the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House! on Vimeo.

This year, 2017, is the centennial observance of New York State’s women voting for 100 years. As the “Cradle” of the women’s rights movement in the United States, New York has plenty to offer. Head north from New York City (where there’s a lot going on) and then stake out a journey to the Finger Lakes where there’s something for everyone in the family. Four states have suffrage centennial observances planned before the national suffrage centennial in 2020: New York, Michigan, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Local organizations are linking their action and community agendas to suffrage centennial celebrations. A centennial comes only once a year, so why not take advantage of it?

This year’s program at the Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester on February 15, 2017 features Ann Dexter Gordon, the leading authority on Susan B. Anthony, editor of the Papers of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, and research professor in the Department of History at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. See the Anthony Museum & House web site for details.

Advance planning is recommended so that when August 26th in 2017 comes around, you are prepared. August 26th is Women’s Equality Day when we recognize the national observance of the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. What are you planning? A fundraiser, lecture, exhibit, reception, community project? Susan B. Anthony spent 50 years of her life working for women’s voting rights. A hush comes over the Susan B. Anthony House in Rochester, NY when groups, visitors, and tourists open the front door and walk through the building to learn about how the past, present and future come together.

Are you taking advantage of opportunities for events throughout the upcoming year? Do you follow SuffrageCentennials.com on Twitter, Facebook, and the quarterly newsletter?

Celebrate women’s freedom to vote and monitor efforts across the nation to preserve and institute safe and honest voting procedures.
Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event. And don’t forget to pass on women’s suffrage storytelling to the next generation. Suffrage Centennial videos on Vimeo.

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Story of the Fourth of July co-conspirators

Do you know the story of the five co-conspirators who crashed a national Fourth of July centennial celebration?If not, you aren’t alone.

Picture the scene: July 4, 1876. Philadelphia, PA. A national celebration with visitors from all over the world.
The platform’s filled with dignitaries, but the co-conspirators waited until after the reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Declaration

At this very moment Susan B. Anthony was ready to make a move along with Matilda Joslyn Gage, Sara Andrews Spencer, Lillie Devereau Blake, and Phoebe W. Couzins.

Anthony marched up to the platform filled with centennial officials. She formally presented the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States, an update on the declaration from back in 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York.

THE MESSAGE: that the nation must not turn its back on the Unfinished American Revolution by denying women equality and the right to vote.

After delivering the proclamation, Anthony and others distributed copies to the crowd and left the centennial hall. THE RESULT: Pandemonium. General Howley, chairman, shouted for order to be restored.

THE OUTCOME: Suffrage activists held their own independence celebration in Philadelphia.

The July 4th Co-conspirators

AUDIO ACCOUNT OF WHAT HAPPENED on July 4, 1876 at the Fourth of July national centennial, as told by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in her memoir, Eighty Years and More. Read by Amelia Bowen for Suffrage Wagon News Channel.

NOW, LET’S FIRE UP THE BARBEQUE GRILL in 2015 and have some fun!
Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event. Suffrage Centennials Vimeo channel.

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Special report about Seneca Falls women’s rights conference in 1848!

Watch the Video

Special report about Seneca Falls women’s rights convention! on Vimeo.

If you’re expecting Seneca Falls, NY to be like Disneyland, you’ll be disappointed. The town and its past is better suited to an introduction to how women’s history and American history intersect. And those interested include regular tourists as well as those who view their travel as a journey or a pilgrimage to the roots of our history as a nation. There’s a special report, now available on the web site of the Women’s Rights National Historic Park, that will give you a shot in the arm of understanding the significance of the 1848 women’s rights convention. And if you’re headed to Seneca Falls in the future, it’s a recommended read before you leave town.

The Seneca Falls Women’s Rights Convention and the Origins of the Women’s Rights Movement, a special report by Dr. Judith Wellman, puts the conference into perspective and adds to other discussions about whether or not the 1848 convention was all people claimed it to be. There had been stirrings about women’s rights long before 1848, but Wellman notes that the Seneca Falls convention marks the “beginning of the organized women’s rights movement.”

The Seneca Falls gathering set the model for women’s conventions. It nailed the theme of the movement, that is, the connection between women’s rights and the nation’s founding ideals. Seneca Falls set the agenda for the suffrage movement and modeled methods for moving toward the goal of equality. In short, Seneca Falls was a “pivotal” event, one that Wellman argues in a comprehensive report, a perspective that’s also reflected in her 2004 book, The Road to Seneca Falls; Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the First Woman’s Rights Convention.

Read the special report. Find out what else is being said about Seneca Falls, such as the work, The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women’s Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898 by Lisa Tetrault. And take into consideration what’s going on in Seneca Falls, NY during 2015, such as Convention Days in July. And check out the special program about Seneca Falls at Suffrage Wagon Cafe in June. Seneca Falls, NY is expected to be a hot spot for travelers during the 2017 New York suffrage centennial. Get a jumpstart now!

Check out other travel destinations.

Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event.

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Many things Elizabeth Cady Stanton related during her 200th birthday year!

November 2015 birthday for StantonThe Elizabeth Cady Stanton Hometown Association is the go-to place for events and celebrations in upstate New  York during the year of the 200th birthday of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Listing of events in Fulton and Montgomery Counties. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women’s Consortium has a terrific web site to visit. The Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women’s Symposium was first held in Johnstown, NY to continue the work of that city’s most-famous daughter. An outcome of the 2006 Symposium was the creation of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Women’s Consortium.

It’s time to “remember the ladies” in Central Park, NYC. Plans are moving forward with the Central Park statue project that will honor Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton with the 2020 suffrage centennial observance in mind. The approval of NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver enables The Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony Statue Fund, Inc. to accept pledges and contributions for the design and creation of the statue as well as for organizing, outreach, and media efforts. Because of the pro bono assistance of Morrison Foerster, the Statue Fund has been granted tax-exempt status under section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. Contributions to the Fund are tax-deductible.

And don’t forget the November 2015 birthday bash in New York City at Cooper Union!

Suffrage CentennialsimagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event.

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Go behind the scenes of Suffrage Centennials and note progress!

Suffrage centennial celebrations are gathering steam! on Vimeo.

Wishing Well for Suffrage CentennialsWish List for 2015

Do you remember back in December 2014 when we announced our wish for a funded New York State 2017 suffrage centennial planning commission? Wish List Link.

The commission is one step closer to creation in the New York State Legislature. But the help of New York’s voters is needed to make it a reality. Advocates of such a funded planning commission are busy lining up their representatives and asking them to sign onto the bill as sponsors. And the appropriations part of the legislation won’t be a walk in the park. It will require monitoring the bill’s progress and making your views known, that is, if you live in New York State.

The bill sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and Republican State Senator Betty Little will, if passed by both chambers, create a thirteen-person commission consisting of appointees to coordinate the state’s commemorations. The commission could be funded by $2 million in state funds.

VIDEO: For the past two years people on the ground have appealed to Santa and Mrs. Claus for their help in getting the U.S. Congress to reauthorize the “Votes for Women” trail, also known as the National Women’s Rights History Project Act, legislation faithfully sponsored and supported by U.S. Rep. Louise Slaughter.

There’s movement in the hallowed chambers in Washington, DC where this proposed legislation has been stalled. Added to the bill’s support are four cosponsors who include Katko, R-Camillus, and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, an Albany-area Democrat. U.S. Reps. Richard Hanna and Tom Reed, both Republicans, support the measure. Some supporters cite the potential impact of economic development and cultural heritage tourism on the region, also known as the “Cradle” of the women’s rights movement in the United States. VIDEO: About the resources and potential of cultural heritage tourism in the Finger Lakes region of New York State.

AND NOW BACK TO THE SUFFRAGE CENTENNIAL WISH LIST FOR 2015:

Our wishes for 2015 at the start of the year included a national suffragist memorial outside of Washington, DC and a statue of Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in New York City’s Central Park. These two wishes are linked to the 2020 suffrage centennial, and it isn’t a slam dunk. Serious fundraising is underway for both projects. Show your support by following Turning Point Suffragist Memorial (VIDEO)and the Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the Susan B. Anthony Statue Fund. Web site. Dig into your pockets to give. Show support in other ways such as liking their Facebook pages.

imagesFollow SuffrageCentennials.com on Facebook page, Twitter, email subscription, and the Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event.

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Have a blast at Susan B. Anthony’s 195th birthday party! Videos and more.

VIDEO: Support Suffrage-Friendly News & Information Blogs  on Vimeo.

February 15th is Susan B. Anthony’s 195th birthday. The Susan B. Anthony Day on February 15th is observed in New York, California, Florida, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Visit Anthony’s home in Rochester, New York. Or go there vicariously online. Either way you can have a blast at Susan B. Anthony’s 195th birthday party. Lynn Sheer is the keynote speaker at the annual birthday fundraiser for the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House at 17 Madison in Rochester, New York in an event that attracts hundreds of people, some years as many as 700 or more.

Our scout, Kenneth C. Clark, has been on the Susan B. Anthony trail where he photographed the outside of the Ontario County Courthouse in Canandaigua, NY, the location of Susan B. Anthony’s 1873 trial for illegal voting. Ontario County CourthouseTravelers on their way to Rochester often find the detour to the courthouse worth their time. VIDEO about Susan’s trial and the courthouse. Support suffrage centennials and celebrations.

And now for the celebration. VIDEO wishing Susan a happy 195th birthday. VIDEO: Another party goer adds best wishes for everyone celebrating Susan’s birthday. VIDEO: “Susan B. Anthony: The first militant suffragist” features a reading about Anthony in the book by Doris Stevens, “Jailed for Freedom.”

OTHER RESOURCES: Suffrage memorabilia scholar Kenneth Florey writes about Susan B. Anthony medal. Article about Susan B. Anthony and little-known facts about her.

imagesSuffrageCentennials.com has a Facebook page, in addition to Twitter, email subscription, and a Quarterly Newsletter. Sign up for email on this web page. Stay up to date with postings, audio podcasts, and videos. Plan for your suffrage centennial event.

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