The War of Roses
THE WOMEN. THE VOICES. THE VOTE.
A "Get Out The Vote" Event honoring Women's History Month.
The War of Roses
THE WOMEN. THE VOICES. THE VOTE.
A "Get Out The Vote" Event honoring Women's History Month.
Starring...in order of appearance
THE CAST
HOT OFF THE PRESS ~ CAST LIST FOR THE WAR OF ROSES! PLEASE CHECK BACK TO READ ALL ABOUT THEM! (headshots & bios to be posted the first week of March)
About The Production Team
THE WAR OF ROSES "Get Out The Vote" Event
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:
Potenza Smith Productions wife and husband team, Ann Potenza and Josh Smith, have been performers and co-producers of live theatre and indy film/video projects for over twenty years.
DIRECTOR:
Ann Potenza produces large scale live events in the Los Angeles community. Serving as director for the "Get Out The Vote" event and curator of the suffragist speeches for The War of Roses, she gets to combine the best of her two worlds; community participation and storytelling.
CASTING DIRECTOR:
Felicia Fasano is an award-winning thirty-five year Casting Director. She has been honored with four Artios Awards, the Casting Society of America's highest honor, for the CW's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, FOX's The Mindy Project and SHOWTIME'S Sleeper Cell. She also earned three Artios and two Emmy nominations for SHOWTIME'S Californication; as well as seven additional Artios nominations on other projects. Project currently streaming is NETFLIX's Survival of the Thickest.
THEATRE:
The El Portal Theatre is a historic landmark in the San Fernando Valley. Since its first opening in 1926, first for Vaudeville, then Silent Movies, and then Academy Award winning films in the valley, the theatre has flourished through the Jazz Age, the Depression, 4 wars, and the great earthquake of 1994. Owned by Gary Goodgame and Bernard Kaufman. Managed by Jay Irwin and Pegge Forrest.
PUBLIC RELATIONS/MEDIA CONTACT:
The Mesulam Group is a full service public relations and communications firm with offices in Los Angeles and New York, specializing in developing and executing strategic and innovative publicity campaigns for entertainment, lifestyle and non-profit clients locally, nationally and internationally.
About The War of Roses
The Women.
The Voices.
The Voices.
Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change in the Constitution – guaranteeing women the right to vote.
Suffragists marched for women’s voting rights in communities across
Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change in the Constitution – guaranteeing women the right to vote.
Suffragists marched for women’s voting rights in communities across the state wearing the colors adopted by the National American Woman Suffrage Association — white and golden yellow.These colors stood for purity and hope, respectively, and were used during parades. They carried golden yellow banners which they created to express the spirit of the movement, and later yellow roses became an emblem of the suffrage cause. In contrast, the anti-suffragists adopted red roses as their symbol.
The Voices.
The Voices.
The Voices.
In July 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY. The Seneca Falls Convention produced a list of demands called the Declaration of Sentiments. Modeled on the Declaration of Independence, it called for broader educational and professional opportunities for women and the
In July 1848 Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women's rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY. The Seneca Falls Convention produced a list of demands called the Declaration of Sentiments. Modeled on the Declaration of Independence, it called for broader educational and professional opportunities for women and the right of married women to control their wages and property. After this historic gathering, women’s voting rights became a central issue in the emerging debate about women’s rights in the United States.
Many of the attendees to the convention were also abolitionists whose goals included universal suffrage – the right to vote for all adults. In 1870 this goal was partially realized when the 15th amendment to the Constitution, granting black men the right to vote, was ratified.
The Vote.
The Voices.
Women's History Month
Starting in 1910, some states in the West began to extend the vote to women for the first time in almost 20 years. Idaho and Utah had given women the right to vote at the end of the 19th century.
Still, southern and eastern states resisted. In 1916, NAWSA president Carrie Chapman Catt unveiled what she called a “Winning Plan” to get the vo
Starting in 1910, some states in the West began to extend the vote to women for the first time in almost 20 years. Idaho and Utah had given women the right to vote at the end of the 19th century.
Still, southern and eastern states resisted. In 1916, NAWSA president Carrie Chapman Catt unveiled what she called a “Winning Plan” to get the vote at last: a blitz campaign that mobilized state and local suffrage organizations all over the country, with a special focus on those recalcitrant regions.
Meanwhile, a splinter group called the National Woman’s Party founded by Alice Paul focused on more radical, militant tactics—hunger strikes and White House pickets, for instance—aimed at winning dramatic publicity for their cause.
WWI slowed the suffragists’ campaign but helped them advance their argument nonetheless: Women’s work on behalf of the war effort, activists pointed out, proved that they were just as patriotic and deserving of citizenship as men.
Finally, on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. And on November 2 of that year, more than 8 million women across the United States voted in elections for the first time.
Women's History Month
The Equal Rights Amendment
Women's History Month
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.
Women's History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.” These proclamations celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields.
The Nineteenth Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment
The 19th Amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote.
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest.
Beginning in
The 19th Amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote.
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest.
Beginning in the 1800s, women organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote, but it took them decades to accomplish their purpose. Between 1878, when the amendment was first introduced in Congress, and August 18, 1920, when it was ratified, champions of voting rights for women worked tirelessly, but strategies for achieving their goal varied. Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state—nine western states adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts. Some suffragists used more confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. Often supporters met fierce resistance. Opponents heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused them.
By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. When New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917 and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift.
On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and 2 weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, changing the face of the American electorate forever.
The Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is an amendment to the United States Constitution that guarantees equality of rights under the law for all persons regardless of sex.
“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
Equal rights activist Alice Paul first introduced
The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is an amendment to the United States Constitution that guarantees equality of rights under the law for all persons regardless of sex.
“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”
Equal rights activist Alice Paul first introduced the ERA in 1923 to expand the rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution to both genders. She understood the importance of constitutional protections for all citizens when she argued, "We shall not be safe until the principle of equal rights is written into the framework of our government."
As of January 27, 2020, the ERA has satisfied the requirements of Article V of the Constitution for ratification (passage by two-thirds of each house of Congress and approval by three-fourths of the states).
Leading constitutional scholars agree that the ERA is now part of the Constitution. Because of issues raised about its unique ratification process the Archivist of the United States has not yet taken the final ministerial step of publishing the ERA in the Federal Register with certification of its ratification as the 28th Amendment.
When the 117th U.S. Congress convened in full for the first time on Thursday, January 21, 2021 resolutions with bipartisan support were introduced to remove the time limit placed upon the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972. On Wednesday, March 17, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove the time limit with a vote of 222-204 on HJ Res 17. Attention now turns to the U.S. Senate and moving SJ Res 1 to the floor for a vote.
The Suffragist Voices
Abigail Adams
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Born 1744: Weymouth, MA,
British America.
Died 1818: Quincy, MA, U.S..
American advocate of married women’s property rights & opportunities for women; education. Wife of Founding Father John Adams. First “second lady”, and second “first lady”.
Her bold call to renounce English rule played a part in John’s decision to join with the rest
Born 1744: Weymouth, MA,
British America.
Died 1818: Quincy, MA, U.S..
American advocate of married women’s property rights & opportunities for women; education. Wife of Founding Father John Adams. First “second lady”, and second “first lady”.
Her bold call to renounce English rule played a part in John’s decision to join with the rest of the revolutionaries in 1776, and points to a much bigger role in American independence than America's founding mothers are often given credit for. Abigail was an advocate for women's rights and the abolition of slavery. She would go on to become the most politically active First Lady of the early United States and was a huge intellectual influence on John Adams throughout his life, as well as his closest political advisor.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Born 1815: Johnstown, NY.
Died 1902: New York City.
American writer, activist, abolitionist, suffragist, leader of women’s rights movement in U.S..
Co-Organizer of American Equal Rights Association and Women’s Loyal National League (abolition of slavery), co-publisher of women’s rights newspaper The Revolution, co-founder National Woman S
Born 1815: Johnstown, NY.
Died 1902: New York City.
American writer, activist, abolitionist, suffragist, leader of women’s rights movement in U.S..
Co-Organizer of American Equal Rights Association and Women’s Loyal National League (abolition of slavery), co-publisher of women’s rights newspaper The Revolution, co-founder National Woman Suffrage Association.
As organizer of the 1848 Seneca Falls Convention, which was the first convention for women’s rights, Elizabeth was the principal author of the “Declaration of Sentiments”, which pushed forward the “grand movement for attaining the civil, social, political, and religious rights of women.”
Lucretia Mott
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Sojourner Truth
Born 1793: Nantucket, MA.
Died 1880: Cheltenham, PA.
American Quaker preacher, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, social reformer. Co-founder of the Female Medical College of PA and raised funds for the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. She considered slavery to be evil, and refused to use cotton cloth, cane sugar, and other
Born 1793: Nantucket, MA.
Died 1880: Cheltenham, PA.
American Quaker preacher, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, social reformer. Co-founder of the Female Medical College of PA and raised funds for the Philadelphia School of Design for Women. She considered slavery to be evil, and refused to use cotton cloth, cane sugar, and other slavery-produced goods. Her home was a stop on the Underground Railroad, and in 1833, she co-founded the American Anti-Slavery Society with her husband James, and was called the “foremost white female abolitionist in the U.S.”. Lucretia attended all three national Anti-Slavery Conventions of American Women, but as a female delegate at the 1840 General Anti-Slavery Convention in London, she was required to sit in a segregated area, which led her to the idea of reforming the position of women in society.
Eight years later she was invited to the Seneca Falls Convention, and helped write the “Declaration of Sentiments”. During June 1848 National Convention of the Liberty Party, voting delegates cast ballots for her to be candidate for Office of U.S. Vice President, making her first woman to run for that position. After Civil War, served as first president of the American Equal Rights Association in 1866. An early-version of 1923 Equal Rights Amendment was named the Lucretia Mott Amendment.
Sojourner Truth
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Sojourner Truth
Born 1797: Swartekill, NY
(NY Dutch heritage: Isabella Baumfree).
Died 1883: Battle Creek, MI.
American abolitionist, human rights activist, women’s rights, voting rights, property rights. Born into slavery but escaped with infant daughter to freedom in 1826, first black woman to go to court and win case against a white man, and re
Born 1797: Swartekill, NY
(NY Dutch heritage: Isabella Baumfree).
Died 1883: Battle Creek, MI.
American abolitionist, human rights activist, women’s rights, voting rights, property rights. Born into slavery but escaped with infant daughter to freedom in 1826, first black woman to go to court and win case against a white man, and recovered son in 1828.
She gave herself the name Sojourner Truth in 1843 after she became convinced that God had called her to leave the city and go into the countryside "testifying the hope that was in her". During the Civil War, she helped recruit black troops for the Union Army, and after the war, tried, unsuccessfully, to secure the “forty acres and a mule” land grants for formerly enslaved people.
Clarina Nichols
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Born 1810: Townshend, VT.
Died 1885: California.
American journalist, lobbyist, public speaker (temperance, abolition, women’s movement), teacher, farmer, lay doctor and lawyer, matron in a home for destitute black children and widows, conductor on Underground Railroad.
Clarina’s first public speech on married rights at the second Na
Born 1810: Townshend, VT.
Died 1885: California.
American journalist, lobbyist, public speaker (temperance, abolition, women’s movement), teacher, farmer, lay doctor and lawyer, matron in a home for destitute black children and widows, conductor on Underground Railroad.
Clarina’s first public speech on married rights at the second National Women's Convention shocked the crowd of a thousand gathered in Worchester, Massachusetts. Married women’s property rights were a key goal of women’s rights activists, but the first married women’s property acts had little to do with women’s rights; they were passed in the wake of the panic of 1837 as a way of putting family property into women’s names to shield it from their husbands’ creditors.
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Matilda Joslyn Gage
Born 1826: Cicero, NY.
Died 1898: Chicago, IL.
American writer, pioneering suffragist, activist, abolitionist, free-thinker, and Native American rights advocate. She criticized organized Christianity for its role in the oppression of women, and was an organizer of suffrage groups in New York and Virginia.
In 1871, she organized some w
Born 1826: Cicero, NY.
Died 1898: Chicago, IL.
American writer, pioneering suffragist, activist, abolitionist, free-thinker, and Native American rights advocate. She criticized organized Christianity for its role in the oppression of women, and was an organizer of suffrage groups in New York and Virginia.
In 1871, she organized some women in her hometown to attempt to vote, and then in 1886, she led a protest at the unveiling of the Statue of Liberty, arguing that it was hypocritical to depict “liberty” as a woman when actual American women were denied political and social rights.
Matilda’s daughter married L. Frank Baum, who achieved fame as the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Matilda’s ideas about female power and matriarchy when creating a world ruled by women more than likely influenced his writings, notably his ideas about the witches, stereotypes she had researched for her 1893 book, Woman, Church and State.
Lucy Stone
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Born 1818: West Brookfield, MA.
Died 1893: Boston, MA.
American orator, abolitionist, suffragist, women’s rights. Lucy dedicated her life to battling inequality on all fronts. She was the first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree, and she defied gender norms when she famously wrote marriage vows to omit the word “obey”, and refu
Born 1818: West Brookfield, MA.
Died 1893: Boston, MA.
American orator, abolitionist, suffragist, women’s rights. Lucy dedicated her life to battling inequality on all fronts. She was the first Massachusetts woman to earn a college degree, and she defied gender norms when she famously wrote marriage vows to omit the word “obey”, and refused to take her husband’s last name. Known as the “heart and soul” of women’s rights, she initiated the 1st National Women’s Rights Convention in Massachusetts and assisted in establishing the Woman’s National Loyal League to help pass the 13th Amendment and abolish slavery. She formed the American Woman Suffrage Association, which built suffrage support on state and local levels, and founded a weekly periodical called, Woman’s Journal, the most important women’s suffrage publication of its era.
Like other female abolitionists, Lucy was often heckled and at least once was physically attacked by a mob.
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony
Born 1820: Adams, MA.
Died 1906: Rochester, NY.
American Quaker, writer, suffragist, women’s rights activist, abolitionist.
Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17. Co-Organizer of American Equal Rights Association and Women’s Loyal National League (abolition of slav
Born 1820: Adams, MA.
Died 1906: Rochester, NY.
American Quaker, writer, suffragist, women’s rights activist, abolitionist.
Born into a Quaker family committed to social equality, she collected anti-slavery petitions at the age of 17. Co-Organizer of American Equal Rights Association and Women’s Loyal National League (abolition of slavery), co-publisher of women’s rights newspaper The Revolution, co-founder National Woman Suffrage Association, later merging with American Woman Suffrage Association (to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association). In an effort to challenge suffrage, Susan and her three sisters voted in the 1872 Presidential election. She was arrested at her home and put on trial. The judge instructed the jury to find her guilty without any deliberations, and imposed a $100 fine. When Susan refused to pay, the judge did not sentence her to prison time, which ended her chance of an appeal. Key player in creating International Council of Women, helped bring World’s Congress of Representative Women to the World’s Columbian Exposition (Chicago 1893).
Amelia Bloomer
Susan B. Anthony
Florence Kelley
Born 1818: Homer, NY.
Died 1894: Council Bluffs, IA.
American newspaper editor, women’s rights and temperance advocate. First woman to own, operate and edit The Lily, a newspaper for women.
In the publication, Amelia promoted a change in dress standards for women that would be less restrictive in regular activities. She started wearing
Born 1818: Homer, NY.
Died 1894: Council Bluffs, IA.
American newspaper editor, women’s rights and temperance advocate. First woman to own, operate and edit The Lily, a newspaper for women.
In the publication, Amelia promoted a change in dress standards for women that would be less restrictive in regular activities. She started wearing loose trousers gathered at the ankles, known as “bloomers”, seeing it as a way to physically and spiritually free women of the cumbersome hoop. The "Bloomers," generated a great deal of controversy and was considered descriptive of a woman's character and upbringing. In spite of the ridicule, Amelia continued to wear them and soon other women joined, serving as an inspiration for early beachwear and bicycling apparel.
Though best known for her ideas about clothing, Bloomer also advocated for other causes, including women's suffrage.
Florence Kelley
Mary Church Terrell
Florence Kelley
Born 1859: Philadelphia, PA.
Died 1932: Philadelphia, PA.
American social and political reformer, pioneer of term “wage abolitionism” (labor rights), and founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Florence did investigative work for the federal and Illinois bureaus of labor delving into
Born 1859: Philadelphia, PA.
Died 1932: Philadelphia, PA.
American social and political reformer, pioneer of term “wage abolitionism” (labor rights), and founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Florence did investigative work for the federal and Illinois bureaus of labor delving into slum and sweatshop conditions. Her findings and articles sparked the legislators to limit women's working hours, prohibit child labor and regulate sweatshops. She was appointed chief factory inspector for Illinois, and with her staff, continued to expose violations. Moving to Helen Wald's Henry Street Settlement House in New York, Florence continued her battles against inhumane working conditions. She helped organize 60 local and state consumer leagues that carried the battle against inhuman labor conditions across the nation, eventually founding what would become the federal Children's Bureau. She was also instrumental in ground-breaking legislation for minimum wages.
Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell
Born 1863: Memphis, TN.
Died 1954: Annapolis, MD.
American civil rights activist, journalist, teacher, one of the first African-American women to earn college degree.
Known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage, Mary was a founding member and first national president of the National Association of Colored Women, and ch
Born 1863: Memphis, TN.
Died 1954: Annapolis, MD.
American civil rights activist, journalist, teacher, one of the first African-American women to earn college degree.
Known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage, Mary was a founding member and first national president of the National Association of Colored Women, and charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Colored Women’s League of Washington, and the National Association of College Women. She taught in the Latin Department at the M Street School in Washington DC, now known as Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, which was the first African American public high school in the nation. In 1896, she was the first African-American woman in the United States to be appointed to the school board of a major city, serving in the District of Columbia until 1906.
Emmeline Pankhurst
Mary Church Terrell
Mary Church Terrell
Born 1858: Lancashire, England.
Died 1928: London, England.
Famous British suffragette, political activist and organizer of the UK suffragette movement. Emmeline founded the Women’s Franchise League and the Women’s Social and Political Union, dedicated to “deeds, not words” for women’s voting rights, which favored more militant tactics
Born 1858: Lancashire, England.
Died 1928: London, England.
Famous British suffragette, political activist and organizer of the UK suffragette movement. Emmeline founded the Women’s Franchise League and the Women’s Social and Political Union, dedicated to “deeds, not words” for women’s voting rights, which favored more militant tactics in order to gain greater notice from the public and government.
Many women felt Emmeline’s public and loud quest, like bombings and arson, was more of a hindrance than a help, however, her repeated prison sentences and staged hunger strikes, did help cast aside the Victorian notion that women were delicate, proper creatures who belonged solely in the home. Eventually, British and other European women won the vote in 1918
Alice Paul
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Born 1885: Mount Laurel, NJ.
Died 1977: Moorestown, NJ.
American Quaker, suffragist, feminist, women’s rights activist. When Alice moved to England after completing her masters degree at University of Pennsylvania, her intention was to do further study and gain more experience in social work, but she soon became attracted to the British
Born 1885: Mount Laurel, NJ.
Died 1977: Moorestown, NJ.
American Quaker, suffragist, feminist, women’s rights activist. When Alice moved to England after completing her masters degree at University of Pennsylvania, her intention was to do further study and gain more experience in social work, but she soon became attracted to the British suffrage movement and participated in its militant activities when she joined the Women’s Social and Political Union.
On her return to America, Alice organized the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington D.C. and formed the National Woman’s Party in 1916. A year later, she led twenty women to picket the White House, which was the first time anyone had protested there. The women were harassed and beaten, and were repeatedly arrested and jailed on charges of “obstructing traffic.” The women were sent to a Workhouse prison in Virginia and the District Jail in D.C. Prison conditions were awful and Alice and the others went on a hunger strike in protest. In response, the prison guards restrained and force-fed her through a tube. A month later, over forty guards were ordered to attack the Silent Sentinels. Battered, choked, and beaten, some to unconsciousness, the women described it as the “Night of Terror.”
Concerned not only with the rights of American women, but also with those of women around the world, Alice founded the World Woman’s Party, and was instrumental in incorporating language regarding women’s equality in the United Nations Charter, which established a permanent UN Commission on the Status of Women. Alice's lifelong campaign to win full equality for women ultimately led her to introduce the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, which as of today’s date, has not been ratified. Alice also played a role in getting sex included in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Born 1862: Holly Springs, MS.
Died 1931: Chicago, IL.
American investigative journalist, educator, women’s rights activist, and an early leader in the civil rights. movement. Ida formed several civil rights organizations, including the National Association of Colored Women, and the NAACP. Over the course of her lifetime, Ida was dedicate
Born 1862: Holly Springs, MS.
Died 1931: Chicago, IL.
American investigative journalist, educator, women’s rights activist, and an early leader in the civil rights. movement. Ida formed several civil rights organizations, including the National Association of Colored Women, and the NAACP. Over the course of her lifetime, Ida was dedicated to combating prejudice and violence, and the fight for African American equality, especially that of women. Born into slavery in Mississippi, Ida was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War. At the age of 16, she lost both her parents and her infant brother in the 1878 yellow fever epidemic. She went to work and kept the rest of the family together with the help of her grandmother. Later, moving with some of her siblings to Memphis, Tennessee, she found better pay as a teacher, then became editor of the small Memphis journal Evening Star and wrote weekly articles for The Living Way newspaper under the pen name “Iola. Eventually, Ida co-owned and wrote for the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight newspaper. Her reporting covered incidents of racial segregation and inequality. In 1913, Ida founded the Alpha Suffrage Club in Chicago, which taught women how to be politically active and promoted Black candidates for office. As president of the club, Ida was invited to march in the 1913 Women’s Parade in Washington D.C., but organizers were afraid of offending Southern white suffragists and asked women of color to march at the back of the parade. Ida refused, and stood on the parade sidelines until the Chicago contingent of white women passed, at which point she joined the march.
Jane Addams
Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Helen Keller
Born 1860: Cedarville, IL.
Died 1935: Chicago, IL.
American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, author, leader in social work and women’s suffrage, and advocate for world peace, becoming the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
During a trip abroad, Jane became
Born 1860: Cedarville, IL.
Died 1935: Chicago, IL.
American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, author, leader in social work and women’s suffrage, and advocate for world peace, becoming the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
During a trip abroad, Jane became a critical observer of society. Deeply moved by the suffering of others, she sought solutions to the problems faced by residents of densely packed cities. On return from the trip, Jane was energized to create a settlement house similar to what she’d seen in London, and co-founded Chicago’s Hull House, which provided services to poor immigrant families. In 1920, Jane co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union and became a highly influential progressive in Chicago. In addition to providing direct social services for those who came through the settlement, Jane fought for better labor conditions, safe play spaces, cleaner city streets, a court system for juvenile offenders, and much more.
Helen Keller
Carrie Chapman Catt
Helen Keller
Born 1880: Tuscumbia, AL.
Died 1968: Easton, CT.
American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer.
When she was nineteen months old, she lost her ability to see and hear from a childhood illness. As part of their efforts to communicate with Helen, her parents turned to the Perkins School for the Blind, and a
Born 1880: Tuscumbia, AL.
Died 1968: Easton, CT.
American author, disability rights advocate, political activist and lecturer.
When she was nineteen months old, she lost her ability to see and hear from a childhood illness. As part of their efforts to communicate with Helen, her parents turned to the Perkins School for the Blind, and a graduate named Anne Sullivan was sent to the Keller home to train Helen in her seventh year. Anne famously taught Helen to read braille, and in time, Helen was able to communicate through both sign language and aural speech. Following the completion of her studies at the Cambridge School for Young Ladies, Helen enrolled at Radcliffe College, and while completing her collegiate studies, wrote her autobiography, The Story of My Life, first published in 1904. All of her work as student and author was done in conjunction with Anne, who became a lifelong friend. A self-described “militant suffragette,” Helen used the considerable notoriety she gained in her adolescence to advocate for others for the rest of her life. In 1913, Helen planned to deliver her speech “Woman For Suffrage” in the large parade known as the “Woman Suffrage Procession” in Washington, DC. The rally began in front of the U.S. Capitol and marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, but the five thousand marchers were soon outnumbered and the crowd surged in on the parade route. Marching suffragettes were jeered, taunted, and physically harassed. Helen never got to deliver her speech.
Carrie Chapman Catt
Carrie Chapman Catt
Carrie Chapman Catt
Born 1859: Ripon, WI.
Died 1947: New Rochelle, NY.
American women’s suffrage leader,
instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment. Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University, supported tuition as a dishwasher, in school library, and as teacher in rural schools. Joined the Crescent Literary Society, demanding to be allow
Born 1859: Ripon, WI.
Died 1947: New Rochelle, NY.
American women’s suffrage leader,
instrumental in the passage of the 19th Amendment. Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State University, supported tuition as a dishwasher, in school library, and as teacher in rural schools. Joined the Crescent Literary Society, demanding to be allowed to make speeches as men did. Member of Pi Beta Phi, started all girls’ debate club and advocated for women’s participation in military drills. After graduation, worked as law clerk, then teacher and superintendent of schools, becoming first female superintendent of the district. She served as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, founded the International Alliance of Women, the League of Women Voters, and the International Alliance of Women. In 1916, an emergency convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association was organized following the Republican and Democratic conventions in June. At the convention, members debated whether the NAWSA should concentrate on a federal amendment or on state legislation, or continue to work for both, with a goal of determining a course of action before the national presidential election. In 1919, Carrie led an army of voteless women to pressure Congress to pass the constitutional amendment giving them the right to vote, and convinced state legislatures to ratify it in 1920.
Jeannette Rankin
Carrie Chapman Catt
Carrie Chapman Catt
Born 1880: Missoula County, MT.
Died 1973: Carmel, CA.
American politician, suffragist, advocate for women’s rights and civil rights.
The eldest of seven children, Jeannette grew up on her family’s ranch in Montana and helped care for her younger siblings by performing farm chores and maintaining farm equipment. Her early life experien
Born 1880: Missoula County, MT.
Died 1973: Carmel, CA.
American politician, suffragist, advocate for women’s rights and civil rights.
The eldest of seven children, Jeannette grew up on her family’s ranch in Montana and helped care for her younger siblings by performing farm chores and maintaining farm equipment. Her early life experiences working side-by-side with men on the western frontier would shape her political views on women’s right to vote.
Jeannette was a Montana politician who made history in 1916 as the first woman ever elected to the United States Congress. She was also the only member of Congress to cast a vote against participation in both world wars. Her two "no" votes in Congress are her most famous speeches. Unafraid to take controversial positions on several inflammatory issues, Jeannette was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement and a lifelong pacifist. While in Congress, she introduced legislation that eventually became the 19th Constitutional Amendment and championed a multitude of diverse women's rights and civil rights causes throughout a career that spanned more than six decades.
Febb E. Burn
Frederick Douglass
Febb E. Burn
Born 1873: Niota, TN.
Died 1945: Niota, TN.
American college-educated teacher in Tennessee. Although she ran the family farm & hosiery mill after her husband’s death, she subscribed to four newspapers and a dozen magazines to keep up with current events, which included the suffragist movement. Febb would later tell a reporter, “Suffrag
Born 1873: Niota, TN.
Died 1945: Niota, TN.
American college-educated teacher in Tennessee. Although she ran the family farm & hosiery mill after her husband’s death, she subscribed to four newspapers and a dozen magazines to keep up with current events, which included the suffragist movement. Febb would later tell a reporter, “Suffrage has interested me for years. I like the suffrage militants as well as the others. But after having read a barrage of bitter “anti” speeches published in the papers and realizing that my son’s constituents were fiercely in opposition to woman suffrage, I felt compelled to force the issue. So I sat down on my little chair on the front porch and penned a few lines to my son.”
Febb was the mother of Harry T. Burn, at 24-years old, the youngest member of the Tennessee House of Representatives, who faced re-election in the upcoming 1920 fall election and identified with the “antis” by wearing a red rose on his lapel.
Harry Burn
Frederick Douglass
Febb E. Burn
Born 1895: Mouse Creek, TN.
Died 1977: Niota, TN.
Harry was the son of Febb E. Burn, and at 24-years old, the youngest member of the Tennessee General Assembly (R). Originally intending to vote in favor of suffragists, he was pressured by anti-suffragists and party leaders to oppose woman suffrage. Facing re-election in the upcoming 192
Born 1895: Mouse Creek, TN.
Died 1977: Niota, TN.
Harry was the son of Febb E. Burn, and at 24-years old, the youngest member of the Tennessee General Assembly (R). Originally intending to vote in favor of suffragists, he was pressured by anti-suffragists and party leaders to oppose woman suffrage. Facing re-election in the upcoming 1920 fall election, he identified with the “antis” by wearing a red rose on his lapel.
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass
Born 1817: Cordova, MD.
Died 1895: Washington, D.C..
Frederick was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He became the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, Frederick became a national leader of the aboli
Born 1817: Cordova, MD.
Died 1895: Washington, D.C..
Frederick was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He became the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, Frederick became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, during which he gained fame for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings.
In 1848, Frederick attended the Seneca Falls Convention, the first women’s rights convention, in upstate New York. At the convention, he spoke eloquently in favor of women’s suffrage; he said that he could not accept the right to vote as a black man if women could also not claim that right. He suggested that the world would be a better place if women were involved in the political sphere.
After his powerful words, the attendees passed the convention resolution.
Learn More & Get Involved
Register to Vote
League of Women Voters
Register to Vote
Vote.gov is your authoritative, trusted source for voting information. Because voter registration happens at the state level, Vote.gov directs Americans to registration rules for their own states.
In addition to partnering with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), Vote.gov collaborates openly with nonpartisan, third party organizations as well as with state and local election officials. www.vote.gov
ERA Coalition
League of Women Voters
Register to Vote
The ERA Coalition and Fund for Women’s Equality (ERA Coalition Forward) is a movement of movements. It convenes a diverse coalition of 300 partner organizations across the country, representing 80 million people.
From gender, racial, economic and reproductive justice to labor and LGBTQ+ rights, partners represent interconnected, intergenerational, and intersectional organizations all united under one banner: to advance equality. Together, the ERA Coalition uses the ERA to build a foundation for equal treatment under the law. www.eracoalition.org
League of Women Voters
League of Women Voters
National Organization for Women
The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization working to protect and expand voting rights and ensure everyone is represented in our democracy. We empower voters and defend democracy through advocacy, education, and litigation, at the local, state, and national levels.
The League is a political grassroots network and membership organization that believes the freedom to vote is a nonpartisan issue. For more than a century, we’ve worked to empower voters and defend democracy. As a women-led organization, we encourage everyone to take part in our democracy. www.lwv.org
National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
National Organization for Women
As the grassroots arm of the women’s movement, the National Organization for Women is dedicated to its multi-issue and multi-strategy approach to women’s rights, and is the largest organization of feminist grassroots activists in the United States. NOW has hundreds of chapters and hundreds of thousands of members and activists in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Since our founding in 1966, NOW’s purpose is to take action through intersectional grassroots activism to promote feminist ideals, lead societal change, eliminate discrimination, and achieve and protect the equal rights of all women and girls in all aspects of social, political, and economic life. www.now.org
Women's March
National Organization for Women
Women's March
The mission of Women’s March is to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change. Women’s March is a women-led movement providing intersectional education on a diverse range of issues and creating entry points for new grassroots activists & organizers to engage in their local communities through trainings, outreach programs and events. Women’s March is committed to dismantling systems of oppression through nonviolent resistance and building inclusive structures guided by self-determination, dignity and respect.
The power of women is undeniable. Our communities are closest to the problem, and are also closest to the solution.
Women’s March is able to organize and mobilize millions of everyday women because Women’s March is built, funded, and led by everyday women. We Won't Stop Until We Win! www.womensmarch.com
Rock The Vote
National Organization for Women
Women's March
Rock the Vote is the most trusted and effective 501c3 nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to building the political power of young people.
In 1990, music executives founded Rock the Vote in response to the censorship of hip-hop and rap artists. Our first partnership, with MTV, promoted the message that “Censorship is Un-American” and activated millions of young people across the country to exercise their rights and represent their interests. For over thirty years, we have continuously adapted to the changing landscapes of media, technology and culture to breakthrough and empower each new generation.
We are drawing on our decades of experience to deploy the most effective and impactful messages, tactics, and technology to uplift and empower the largest, most diverse generation in U.S. history. We do this while also pioneering innovative ways to make democratic participation more accessible and defending young people’s right to vote. www.rockthevote.org
Postcards To Voters
LA Women's Collective
LA Women's Collective
Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.
We consist of over 75,000+ volunteers in every state who have written close to 8 million postcards to voters in over 200 key, close elections.
We use an interactive texting service to assign addresses to our trusted, returning volunteers. For new volunteers and those organizing postcard parties around the country, we use a commercial Help Desk system to streamline and automate email requests.
Another commercial business intelligence package crunches the numbers so we always know who our top volunteers are by campaign, a heat-map showing where the postcards are being written by zip code around the country, and other essential dashboards to manage an operation that now averages 5,000 voter addresses assigned daily. www.postcardstovoters.org
LA Women's Collective
LA Women's Collective
LA Women's Collective
The Los Angeles Women's Collective is a political action committee started in 2016 to harness more female influence into politics and elections. We believe strongly in the collective power that women have when they are brought together to make change.
We are passionate about supporting the best candidates in the most critical races, electing more women to higher office, coalescing around important policy issues where womens’ voices can make a huge difference, and empowering more women to be political donors and use their voices (and their pocketbooks) effectively. www.lawomenscollective.com
Emily's List
LA Women's Collective
Planned Parenthood
We recruit, train, and support Democratic pro-choice women running for office up and down the ballot. Because in office, these women can change the world.
EMILYs List Action (formerly American Women) is an affiliated organization of EMILYs List, which has been doing research about the needs and views of women for more than 20 years.
EMILYs List Action is strengthening our democracy by increasing public awareness of the values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of women with regard to the critical issues facing our nation. As bad actors target American women online to undermine trust, our goal is to create an environment in which women trust American institutions, have confidence in women-led initiatives and support women’s leadership. www.emilyslist.org
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood is a trusted health care provider, an informed educator, a passionate advocate, and a global partner helping similar organizations around the world.
The mission of Planned Parenthood is to: Help people live full, healthy lives — no matter your income, insurance, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, or immigration status; Provide the high-quality inclusive and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care services all people need and deserve — with respect and compassion; Advocate for public policies that protect and expand reproductive rights and access to a full range of sexual and reproductive health care services, including abortion; Provide medically accurate education that advances the understanding of human sexuality, healthy relationships, and body autonomy; Promote research and technology that enhances reproductive health care and access. Planned Parenthood delivers vital reproductive health care, sex education, and information to millions of people worldwide. www.plannedparenthood.org