Ida B. Wells comes alive on stage in multi-media event by Safiya Bandele

The life of Ida B. Wells (1862 – 1931), activist and suffragist, will be presented in a multi-media performance by Safiya Bandele during Women’s History Month: Sunday, March 24, 2013, 4 p.m. at Brooklyn’s Restoration Plaza Community Room, 1368 Fulton St., Brooklyn, NY 11216. Ticket includes play, meal, beverage and dessert. The event is presented by the International African Arts Festival (IAAF) and Brothers Who Cook. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door. The multi-media production is created and performed by Bandele. The performance is also available for schools, community groups, fundraisers, and other special events.

Ida B. Wells was a journalist, educator, wife, mother, suffragist, and internationalist –best known for her anti-lynching work.  At the age of 22 she refused to move to a “colored car” on the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and was forcibly thrown off the train. Her subsequent lawsuit launched her autobiography Crusade for Justice.  Using Wells’ statement “I am an anomaly to myself and others,” Safiya Bandele presents the life of this fierce, uncompromising woman as a model for women activists and as an inspiration for all women.

In a one-hour multi-media event, Bandele presents the following themes in Wells’ life: gender defiance, critical resistance, community organizing, and internationalism.  Bandele talks, chants, dances against a visual backdrop of southern horrors/lynching and the haunting music of “Strange Fruit.” Her presentation includes an arresting  interpretation of the feelings of the trees on which the lynched bodies, the “strange fruit” – were hung. Also examined are Wells’ friendships and conflicts with notable historical figures – Fredrick Douglas, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Susan B. Anthony.

Safiya Bandele resides in Brooklyn, New York. She recently retired after a 34-year career at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York where she served as instructor, Women’s Advocate and Director of the Center for Women’s Development.

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Large crowd today in Washington, DC in 2013 for 1913 centennial suffrage parade

Washington, DC newspaper from the archives of Edna B. Kearns. If you like this and other related articles, visit us at Suffrage Wagon News Channel. And subscribe. See other parade highlights: The 1913 Washington, DC suffrage parade from the archives of Edna Buckman Kearns. Link #1. Link #2. Link #3.

Performance highlights why one suffrage leader was written out of history

 BRIMSTONE, BOOZE AND THE BALLOT

Provocative program explores why one suffrage leader was written out of history 

Women voters and lovers of American history will discover the inside story of two of the suffrage movement’s founders during Women’s History Month when the background struggle between suffrage leaders Susan B. Anthony and Matilda Joslyn Gage is revealed on stage.

The dialogue performance will be at the Rosendale Theater in Rosendale, NY on Friday, March 22, 2013 at 7:30 p.m.

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton are celebrated as two of the founding mothers of the women’s suffrage movement. But who was Matilda Joslyn Gage? In her time she was considered a “founding mother” along with Anthony and Stanton. However, Gage was written out of history.

The background drama will be explored by Sally Roesch Wagner, executive director of the Gage Center in Fayetteville, NY, and Deborah Hughes, president & CEO of the Anthony House in Rochester NY, who will present a compelling dialogue that explores the split between two of the three suffrage movement founders. The event is a joint presentation of the Susan B. Anthony House, The Matilda Joslyn Gage Center, and Votes For Women 2020.

Matlda Joslyn Gage

The rupture between Anthony and Gage will be revealed by the reading of correspondence between them. In a unique juxtaposition, Sally Roesch Wagner (Gage director) will read Susan B. Anthony’s letters while Deborah Hughes (Anthony House director) will bring Gage’s correspondence to light.

After the performance, the audience is invited and encouraged to join the dialogue.

Deborah L. Hughes is a strong advocate for human rights and equal opportunity for all, especially those who suffer discrimination based on gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, or economic circumstance. As an ordained minister and theologian, she brings a depth of knowledge and breadth of experience to this dialogue and special program.

Dr. Sally Roesch Wagner is one of the first women to receive a doctorate in the US for work in women’s studies and is a founder of one of the country’s first women’s studies programs. An author and lecturer, Dr. Wagner appeared in the Ken Burn’s PBS documentary “Not for Ourselves Alone: The Story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony for which she wrote the accompanying faculty guide.

Tickets are priced at $20.20 (tax-deductible) and are available at www.rosendaletheater.org or the box office.

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One Billion Rising is ready to blast off!

Suffrage Wagon joins with activists around the world for ONE BILLION RISING, the largest day of action in the history of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls.

One Billion Rising started as a call to action based on the staggering statistic that one in three women on the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. With the world population at 7 billion, this adds up to more than ONE BILLION WOMEN AND GIRLS.

On February 14, 2013, V-Day’s 15^th anniversary, activists, writers, thinkers, celebrities, and women and men across the world are gearing up to express a shared concern and outrage, demand change, strike, dance, RISE in defiance of the injustices women suffer, and demand an end to violence against women.

“When we started V-Day 14 years ago, we had the outrageous idea that we could end violence against women,” said Eve Ensler. “Now, we are both stunned and thrilled to see that this global action is truly escalating and gaining force. Union workers, parliament members, celebrities, and women of all backgrounds are coming forward to join the campaign.

“On 14th February 2013, V-Day’s 15th Anniversary, we are inviting ONE BILLION women and those who love them to WALK OUT, DANCE, RISE UP, and DEMAND an end to this violence. ONE BILLION RISING will move the earth and activate women and men to dance across every country. V-Day wants the world to see our collective strength, our numbers, and our solidarity across borders. “

V-Day is a global activist movement to end violence against women and girls that raises funds and awareness through benefit productions of Playwright/Founder Eve Ensler’s award winning play The Vagina Monologues and other artistic works. In 2012, over 5,800 V-Day benefit events took place produced by volunteer activists in the U.S. and around the world; these events have educated millions about the real state of affairs involving violence against women and girls.

To date, the V-Day movement has raised over $90 million and reached out to millions about the issue of violence against women and the efforts to end it. Through this work there has been international educational, media and PSA campaigns. Shelters have reopened. Over 14,000 community-based anti-violence programs and safe houses have been created in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, South Dakota, Egypt and Iraq. Over 300 million people have seen a V-Day benefit event in their community.

V-Day has received numerous acknowledgements including Worth Magazine’s 100 Best Charities, Marie Claire Magazine’s Top Ten Charities, one of the Top-Rated organizations on Philanthropedia/Guidestar and Great Nonprofits. V-Day’s newest campaign is ONE BILLION RISING which will culminate on February 14, 2013 with a global action worldwide. www.vday.org

To sign up and learn more, visit www.onebillionrising.org

Stay connected to news and stories of the suffrage movement. LINK.

Suffrage News Notes for January 2013

The 2013 winter issue of Suffrage Wagon’s quarterly newsletter is on the stands. LINK.

Women’s History Month in March 2013 is off to a great start with a suffrage centennial celebration in Washington, DC. For more information. Yeah!!! Sign up for email updates as the event approaches. LINK.

Suffrage Wagon News Channel has a YouTube channel. LINK.

New York needs to connect history with public policy. LINK. DAR suffrage exhibit in Washington, DC during March. LINK. Open letter to the women of Seneca Falls. LINK. PDF. A transgender woman visits the Susan B. Anthony House to learn more about what it means to be a woman. LINK.

Did Susan B. Anthony oppose abortion? Interview with Deborah Hughes, executive director of Susan B. Anthony House. LINK. More Votes for Women quilt design updates. LINK. PDF. The Catholic church and its suffrage history. LINK. PDF. The franchise in Egypt today. LINK. PDF. Young Canadian woman in politics. LINK. PDF.

In the event you missed some of January 2013′s special Suffrage Wagon features –here they are: The strange story of the Governor’s wife –video and story. LINK. Suffrage icon Joan of Arc. LINK. Special tribute to suffrage leader Alice Paul on her January 11th birthday. LINK. Author Ken Florey’s special features on suffrage tea memorabilia. LINK #1. LINK #2.

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The ghosts of suffrage ancestors got Nancy Pelosi in trouble!

US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was teased in 2012. She was attacked. Some commentators suggested that she had a serious mental disorder. What’s behind such a vehement reaction?

Pelosi suggested that she’d been in communication with some of our most revered ancestors who struggled for women’s right to vote. Suffrage ancestors reportedly whispered in Pelosi’s ear about how women finally had a seat at the table of power and as a result, the suffrage spirits crowded in to witness the proceedings.

An animation short produced by an off-shore production company seems rather suspicious in terms of its origin and motivation, considering that Nancy Pelosi and our suffrage ancestors is a relatively obscure story associated with American politics. The video is worth watching, however, if only to cheer on Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, and other activists. Not mentioned in the feedback is an apparently long tradition at the White House of staff and others witnessing ghosts.

Anecdotes and references to these famous suffrage ancestors were recorded at Pelosi’s speeches over time. No one in the audience threw tomatoes at her. It isn’t often when US political figures even mention the suffrage movement, though it’s happening more often these days as awareness of the long and difficult struggle to win the vote for women becomes more mainstream.

ARE YOU DESCENDED FROM A NATIONAL WOMAN’S PARTY ACTIVIST?  Get in touch with The Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association. LINK

LAST-MINUTE DONATION TO SUFFRAGE MEMORIAL: LINK

Stay up to date with suffrage news and stories and the long and difficult struggle for the 19th amendment to the US Constitution. We wish everyone a happy New Year!