THAT DAY IN HERSTORY!
Women of Protest:
Photograph from the Records of the National Woman's Party, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C
That Day in Herstory!
And there's a new voice on Broadway to tell her story!
It's the collective voice of women: the women of today performing in the roles of the women of yesteryear! It is the play entitled "Suffs" that recently opened on Broadway in New York City and was nominated for six 2024 Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The play received two awards: Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Set in1913, "Suffs" (shortened form for suffragists) covers the story of the time when women needed to raise their voice in the fight for their right to vote--and when they did!
Did you know that Susan B. Anthony was hauled off to jail simply for daring to vote? Yes, she defied the current law and voted in the 1872 Presidential election between Ulysses S. Grant and Horace Greeley in her hometown of Rochester, NY. She was actually arrested in the front parlor of her own home on November 18, 1872. She was indicted, tried, and convicted of voting illegally in June of the following year. She was fined $100.
One summer in August 1999, on a trip with my husband Bruno and our youngest son David, who was 12 at the time, we visited Susan's home in Rochester. With our tour guide we stood in that very same parlor room of her home where law enforcement had taken her out.
It was a powerful moment for me!
Susan B. Anthony House
Photo: National Susan B. Anthony
Museum & House
Rochester, New York
17 Madison Street Front Parlor.
In this room Susan B. Anthony was arrested by a U.S. Marshall for voting in the 1872 election. She hoped to prove that women had the legal right to vote under the provisions of the recently passed 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution.
National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House, Rochester, New York. Photography by Walter Colley.
Another significant event occurred on the same day outside her home. A parade was in progress to commemorate the August 26th anniversary of the passage into law of the 19th Amendment, which had given many women the right to vote--the nationwide determination that suffrage was legal for women. The amendment had been passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, ratified on August 18, 1920, and signed into law on August 26, 1920.
The parade route was set on Madison Street to pass directly in front of Susan's house in honor of her tireless fight for women's suffrage together with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. To my surprise, Susan B. Anthony was marching in the parade! Well, a woman dressed as Susan was marching in the parade. The three of us stood on the side watching the marchers, and as the woman dressed as Susan passed by us, she turned her head and with a smile, looked directly at me. To this day, I can still see and feel the depth of her stare--it was as if Susan herself were there, daring me to keep up the courage in the fight for the rights of women and girls.
One of the themes of C:WED is the analysis of the ways in which patriarchy intersects with women's ability -- or inability -- to function: how women, just because they are women or girls, have in many ways been kept outside of societal functioning, whether it be denial of voting rights or in other areas, such as the present denial in some countries of education for girls.
Of the four women who are co-producers of this new play "Suffs", two are women of note who are trying their hand as first-time co-producers. You may be familiar with Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who at age 11 was an outspoken advocate for the rights of women and girls in her country. Malala, now 26 years of age, was shot in the head when she was 15 on October 9, 2012 while on a bus in her native country for daring to fight for the right of girls to receive an education in Pakistan. Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize when she was just 17 for her advocacy for girls' education in Pakistan and globally. She is the youngest person to have become a Nobel laureate.
The other first-time co-producer of the play (and woman of note) is Hillary Clinton. The former Secretary of State introduced “Suffs” at the Tony awards on June 16, 2024 at Lincoln Center. She received a standing ovation and cheers from the audience as she briefly tied together its historical significance with current times, and urged everyone to vote.
When the play’s creator, Shaina Taub, accepted her awards, she said, “The epigraph on my script is a quote from the Talmud: “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”
This show is as much a story for men and boys as it is for women and girls. It is a must-see tale of a human saga and a truly inspiring story of guts and courage!
On Saturday June 8, 2024, I had the pleasure of being in the audience with Eleanor and some friends to see "Suffs” as a revised and polished Broadway show at the Music Box Theater. I had originally seen it as an off-Broadway production at The Public in NYC two years ago. Being in this audience was as much a treat as taking in the musical, as people were so energetically and positively relating to the performance, the songs, and the historical story. It is a powerful show!
Tip: There are many websites for purchasing Broadway tickets. TodayTix is just one of them. Presently, it is offering affordably-priced (and more highly-priced) tickets for “Suffs”.
In the event that you cannot make it into the city to see “Suffs” in person, may I suggest streaming the 2011 film, "Iron Jawed Angels" starring Hillary Swank as Alice Paul, a major leader in the suffrage movement. The film does a good job of relating the story, although, of course, without the upbeat songs of a Broadway musical.
Many other women were also arrested in this struggle for the vote. Thirty-three who peacefully stood in front of the White House (photo at the top of this post) like "Silent Sentinels,” as they were known, were arrested on the night of November 14, 1917. I just recently learned that Dorothy Day, activist and founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, was one of them! She wrote about her experience in her autobiography, The Long Loneliness, in a section entitled "Jail" (pages 72-83).
Read more about "The Night of Terror” and the Occoquan Workhouse where those who were arrested were taken. The National Park Service offers us background information and an update on the site in later years.
If you are interested in learning more about the women’s struggle for suffrage, I invite you to click here to enter the world of the National Park Service. In this, their website on the19th Amendment, NPS offers us choices among stories, videos, podcasts, and short biographies, as well as activities for children and lesson plans for teachers.
Enjoy!
