Featuring: The keynote Address by Women’s Historian Alice Kessler Harris, distinguished professor at Columbia University and Author of A Difficult Woman The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman

Round table discussion about the life and work of Amy Swerdlow and Gerda Lerner moderated by Blanche Wiesen Cook, author of The Biography of Eleanor Roosevelt Volumes 1 and 2.

Amy Swerdlow (1923-2012), graduate and former director of the women’s history graduate program at Sarah Lawrence College was a scholar, activist, teacher, mentor and mother. She was a founding member and a significant force in Women Strike for Peace, a grassroots movement that greatly influenced the end of above ground nuclear weapons testing, especially emphasizing the effect this had on children’s health. The organization went on to protest the Vietnam War. Amy Swerdlow sat on the national board of the antiwar group known as Clergy and Laity Concerned, chaired the steering committees of two antiwar coalitions of women’s groups, the Jeannette Rankin Brigade and the Women’s Emergency Coalition, and was a member of the New York State coordinating council of the National Women’s Political Caucus. Amy Swerdlow was the quintessential activist scholar.

Gerda Lerner (1920-2013) was co-founder of the women’s history graduate program at Sarah Lawrence and a pioneer in the field of women’s history. It was out of the 1979 Summer Institute at Sarah Lawrence organized by Gerda and the Women’s Action Alliance that Women’s History Week, later Women’s History Month, was born. Gerda Lerner leaves a prestigious legacy of scholarship. She was committed to making visible the ignored and debased, debunking the mythology of the unimportance and inaction of the underrepresented. Her groundbreaking Black Women in White America: A Documentary History, for example, forever shattered elite ideas of who makes history and whose history matters.

The Fifteenth Annual Women’s History Conference at Sarah Lawrence College honors Gerda Lerner and Amy Swerdow’s life and work as committed and indomitable activist/scholars by making issues of peace and justice its central theme.

We still face unending war, economic injustice, potential environmental catastrophe, militarism, institutionalized racism, hunger, homophobia and sexism among other issues. By taking a multi-disciplinary approach, we will explore issues of global peace and justice from a variety of perspectives. We seek to understand the ways in which activists have organized around these issues now and in the past and ask the following questions: What are the issues activists have faced in the past and how might we learn from previous movements? How do current issues intersect and interact and how can activists combine forces to confront these problems and work for social change? With the spirit of Amy Swerdlow and Gerda Lerner as our legacy, can we find the energy and focus to move forward together?

Panel Discussions Include:

Uses of Space: Women’s Global and Local Resistance

Women’s Educational Activism

Transnational Peace Activism

Women’s Efforts for Peace in the U.S. and Great Britain

Women’s LGBT Activism

Women Power for Peace: Linkages in Domestic and International Anti-War and Anti-Imperialist Activism During the Vietnam Era

For more information contact:
Tara Elise James
tjames@sarahlawrence.edu
(914) 395-2405

Register:

http://www.slc.edu/graduate/programs/womens-history/conference/registration.html

LIKE us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomensHistoryProgramAtSarahLawrenceCollege

by Olivia Twine

There’s an old hand-hewn wooden wagon on display at the New York State capital that’s the centerpiece of the exhibit “From Seneca Falls to the Supreme Court; New York’s Women Leading the Way.” Called “Spirit of 1776,” the wagon served as a moveable speaker’s platform during the suffrage campaign of the early 20th century, which resulted in the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920 finally guaranteeing women the right to vote.

Tireless suffragist Edna Kearns used the horse-drawn vehicle in New York City and on Long Island where she promoted voting rights for women wherever there was an audience. The response was mixed. Women were routinely criticized for “neglecting” their husbands and children, but Edna’s daughter was seated proudly at her side and her husband, Wilmer, marched in the men’s division of the parades. And when Edna was organizing events away from home, Wilmer answered the phone and attended to suffrage correspondence.

The New York Times reported July 2, 1913 that the wagon, which came from the family of old-time Long Islander, Uncle Dan Hewlett, was presented to the State Woman Suffrage Association for campaign purposes. The Times stated:

“Mrs. Wilmer Kearns and Miss Irene Davidson, dressed as minute men, and little Miss Serena Kearns, in the back seat as Little Liberty carrying the stars and stripes, drove to Jamaica, where a meeting was held. The wagon was covered with painted inscriptions, placards and banners. The words “Spirit of ’76″ was fastened to the back, and beneath it another placard read: ‘If taxation without representation was tyranny in 1776, why  not in 1913?’”

Edna worked on New York State suffrage elections in 1915 and 1917. She picketed the White House and served as congressional chair for Alice Paul, whose courage was extolled in the film, “Iron-Jawed Angels.” These suffragists supported civil disobedience to keep the voting issue alive even when it became taboo after the outbreak of World War I. They challenged President Woodrow Wilson and insisted that the U.S. couldn’t justify fighting for democracy abroad when it wasn’t assured for all its citizens at home.

The Journalist Marguerite Culp-Kearns, Edna’s granddaughter, donated the wagon to the State of New York about ten years ago. The current exhibit features “Spirit of 1776″ and photos of Edna, her colleagues, and panels of contemporary New York State women who forged a path from the Declaration of Sentiments presented at Seneca Falls in 1848 to the Supreme Court of today. The Suffrage Wagon News Channel, or http://www.suffragewagon.org has been created by Culp-Kearns to help develop citizenship through news of the suffrage movement.

Now in its rightful place of honor in the New York State capital around the corner from the Hall of Governors (a display of portraits of the State’s 56 past male governors) “Spirit of 1776″ stands as a reminder of the intelligence, stamina and guts it took to secure a right that seemed obvious in the first place and which we may take for granted today. Voting is a hard-won civil right and the basis of our democracy, much more than a “privilege” like driving a car or traveling on a plane.

Beyond the  milestone  of the suffragists’ goal, the same determination is needed now to meet the challenge of the ongoing values crisis that plagues us. The contrast between our humane sense of fairness and the wreckage visible from unregulated corporate power is disconcerting. We can barely comprehend the choice we face. do we accept the unsustainable “doomsday economy” of inevitable environmental destruction for profit, or will we turn off the TV and do something about it? Can we talk?

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo is to be congratulated for presenting this exhibit and for his initiative of promoting history as a basis for good citizenship. The Governor’s office recently confirmed that the response to “Spirit of 1776″ has been enthusiastic, and that the exhibit has been extended indefinitely. ++

“As Americans, ours is a legacy of bold independence and passionate belief in fairness and justice for all. For generations, this intrepid spirit has driven women pioneers to challenge injustices and shatter ceilings in pursuit of full and enduring equality. During Women’s History Month, we commemorate their struggles, celebrate centuries of progress, and reaffirm our steadfast commitment to the rights, security, and dignity of women in America and around the world. …While we have made great strides toward equality, we cannot rest until our mothers, sisters, and daughters assume their rightful place as full participants in a secure, prosperous, and just society.”

-Barak Obama

Many of those pioneers in education are recognized and honored in the 2012 Gazette publication by the National Women’s History Project.  Representing hundreds of women whose countless hours of work remain uncounted for, these honorees lead the way in improving education for all young women in America over the centuries.  The efforts made by these individuals changed the course of history–or more appropriate herstory.

These Honorees include:

• Emma Hart Willard (1787–1870) – Women Higher Education Pioneer

• Charlotte Forten Grimke (1837 – 1914) – Freedman Bureau Educator

• Annie Sullivan (1866 – 1936) – Disability Education Architect

• Gracia Molina de Pick (b.1929) – Feminist Educational Reformer

• Okolo Rashid (b.1949) – Community Development Activist and 
Historical Preservation Advocate

• Brenda Flyswithhawks (b. 1950) – American Indian Advocate and Educator

Written by:

Kimberly Roush
Blog Manager

Ginsburg was born March 15th, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. After receiving her BA at Cornell University, she attended Harvard Law School receiving her LL.B. from Columbia Law School.  She began her career serving as a law clerk to Edmund L. Palmieri, Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, from 1959–1961.

Continuing her career, throughout many roles, advocating for civil rights, women’s issues, worker’s rights and equality, she became a key player in contributing to the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union, and served as the ACLU’s general Counsel from 1973–1980, and on the National Board of Directors from 1974–1980.

After being appointed Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1980, President Clinton nominated her as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court—taking her seat on August 10, 1993 next to Sandra Day O’Connor the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

She married Martin D. Ginsburg in 1954, and has a daughter, Jane, and a son, James. After 56 years of marriage, her husband passed away in June 2010. Not long after his passing, Ginsburg continued serving her position on the Supreme Court.

Ginsburg turning 79 today continues to serve the women of this country with her advocacy for equality and civil rights.  Ginsburg is an icon to young women of America, especially those pursuing a career in law.  Time and time again, she has proudly served her position to show that the Supreme Court is not entirely male —even when she was faced with some of life’s most difficult circumstances.

Ginsburg sets the standard for accountability; openly she has recognized the inaccuracies in history pertaining to equality, women, slavery, and Native Americans when no one else in her position seemed to be talking about such issues.  She continues to represent herself as a woman and more importantly as an individual that has ideas and perspectives that ultimately shape the outcomes of many issues currently facing our society and the world today.

Written by:
Kimberly Roush
Blog Manager

Sources:
http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/judicial/2009-05-05-ruthginsburg_N.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/justice-ruth-bader-ginsburg-egypt_n_1248527.html

I’m posting about an exciting literary contest, made possible by author Stephanie Dray. Stephanie’s debut novel Lily of the Nile releases on January 4, 2011, through Berkley Books and unveils the little-known story of Princess Selene, daughter of the famous lovers Queen Cleopatra and Roman general Mark Antony.

As a student of history herself, Stephanie wrote Lily of the Nile to encourage young women to learn from the past and to transcend the expectations of society to create a better tomorrow. To that end, she founded The Cleopatra Literary Contest for Young Women. It is an international writing contest aimed at discovering and mentoring aspiring young female writers.

The contest is divided into two categories for ages 13 through 18 and ages 19 through 22 and asks writers to expand upon the universal themes found within Lily of the Nile by creatively relating them to their own lives.  Categories include poetry, prose, creative non-fiction, and short stories. Contestants have the opportunity to compete for a grand prize in both age groups (choice between a Kindle Reader or a $100 prize) along with a month-long mentorship with Stephanie Dray as well as a personalized critique from NY literary agent, Jennifer Schober of Spencerhill Associates.  In addition, every finalist in the contest will receive an Ankh charm—the Egyptian symbol of life.

Additional information about Stephanie Dray and the Cleopatra Literary Contest can be found on Stephanie Dray’s website at http://www.stephaniedray.com/fun/literary-award/.  To help spread the word and make details of the contest available to as many young women as possible, a flier with rules and submission guidelines can be found here: http://www.stephaniedray.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Cleopatra-Contest-Flyer.pdf

The facebook contest page can be found here:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Cleopatra-Literary-Contest/107644759300921

As students, teachers, mentors and professionals, women from Parsons have been at the forefront of design study and practice since the school’s founding in 1896. INSPIRING WOMEN offers glimpses into the education and professional lives of 16 women who attended and taught at Parsons between the 1910s and the 1990s. Through original design work, photographs, notebooks, publicity materials, correspondence, clippings and business records, INSPIRING WOMEN explores changes in the worlds of graphic, interior and fashion design over the course of the 20th century, changes often spearheaded by Parsons’ women as they broke new creative and professional ground, mentored and promoted one another, experimented with new modes of representation, and won expanded opportunity and recognition for women in design.

INSPIRING WOMEN is being held in conjunction with the conference, NO LONGER IN EXILE: The Legacy and Future of Gender Studies at The New School, which will take place adjacent to the exhibit in the Theresa Lang Center, March 26-27, 2010. This exhibition was made possible in part with support from Parsons’ School of Art and Design History and Theory.

Exhibition held at The New School, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY and continuing from March 29-May 31 at Gimbel Library, Parsons The New School for Design
2 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor.

FREE. For more information, please contact kac [at] newschool.edu

SCFG hopes to aspire young girls and give them the self-confidence through these letters. These words of encouragement have continuously been a great source of encouragement to the girls and the organization is grateful to all those women who have contributed their personal story.

This project is just one of the many programs sponsored by SCFG to encourage girls from kindergarten through 6th grade to become future scientists. The organization also sponsors several free, hands-on after-school science clubs that meet once a week at public schools, community centers, and churches in Cambridge, Newton, Boston, and Lawrence.