We invite you to join us for these virtual special events commemorating the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote. Connect with authors, professors, historians and museum curators to explore a variety of issues related to women's suffrage. Please register for all events using a current email address. Instructions to participate will be emailed to you.
All events are curated by Jane Addams Hull House with support from Arlington Heights Memorial Library, Aurora Public Library, Gail Borden Public Library, and Schaumburg Township District Library.
Championing Women’s Activism in Modern America with Author Anya Jabour
Sunday, September 13 / 12-1:30 p.m.
Join us for an afternoon author event with Anya Jabour, as we kick off our partnership celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of Women's Suffrage.
In her new biography, Sophonisba Breckinridge: Championing Women’s Activism in Modern America, Jabour highlights Sophonisba Breckinridge’s remarkable career as an educator and activist. Breckinridge, a native of Kentucky, spent her adult life in Chicago, where she became a tireless advocate of social justice. A close colleague of Jane Addams and a Hull-House resident, she advocated for labor legislation for workers, voting rights for women, social services for immigrants, civil rights for blacks, and financial support for poor families. Breckinridge took part in virtually every reform campaign of the Progressive and New Deal eras and became a nationally and internationally renowned figure. Her work informed women’s activism for decades and continues to shape progressive politics today.
Missed the event? View a recording here.
Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote and Insisted on Equality for All
Thursday, September 17 / 6-7:30 p.m.
Join us for an evening with author and acclaimed historian Martha S. Jones celebrating her book Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote and Insisted on Equality for All. She will appear in conversation with Leslie Harris, professor, Department of History, Northwestern University.
About the Book - In the standard story, the suffrage crusade began in Seneca Falls in 1848 and ended with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. But this overwhelmingly white women’s movement did not win the vote for most black women. Securing their rights required a movement of their own. In Vanguard, Martha S. Jones offers a new history of African American women’s political lives in America. She recounts how they defied both racism and sexism to fight for the ballot, and how they wielded political power to secure the equality and dignity of all persons. From the earliest days of the republic to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and beyond, Jones excavates the lives and work of black women — Maria Stewart, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Fannie Lou Hamer, and more— who were the vanguard of women’s rights, calling on America to realize its best ideals.
About the Author - Professor Martha S. Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at The Johns Hopkins University. She is a legal and cultural historian whose work examines how black Americans have shaped the story of American democracy.
Missed the event? View a recording here.
SURGE: Film Screening & Discussion
Saturday, October 3 / 6-8:30 p.m.
Join us for a very special evening celebrating the new film SURGE - a feature documentary about the record number of first-time female candidates who ran, won and upended politics in the historic 2018 midterm elections.
At 6 p.m. CST, join us on Facebook Live for a timely, LIVE conversation featuring Congresswomen Lauren Underwood and filmmakers Hannah Rosenzweig and Wendy Sachs in conversation with Tracie D. Hall, executive director of the American Library Association. Together they will discuss: How do we create a pipeline for female candidates in the future? How do we encourage more women to run for political office and broaden support for women candidates? You do not need a Facebook account. Tune in to watch live at https://www.facebook.com/arlingtonheightslibrary/
Then, view SURGE. To view the full film, you must register via Eventbrite (per license agreements). You will then receive a link to view SURGE on Zoom: REGISTER HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/surge-film-screening-and-discussion-tickets-86826675925
Presented in partnership with Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago History Museum, Reaching Across Illinois Library System, Aurora Public Library, Gail Borden Public Library, and Schaumburg Township District Library and DuSable Museum of African American History.
About the Film: SURGE is the feature documentary about the record number of first-time female candidates who ran, won and upended politics in the historic 2018 midterm elections. The film asks the question, is this a moment or a movement? Lauren Underwood, the youngest black woman to ever be elected to Congress is one of our three main characters. And each of our candidates in Texas, Indiana and Illinois were looking to flip their deep red districts to blue. The film is bookended by reflecting on the urgency of this time with a nod to women’s political history and the “1992 Year of the Woman” and then looks forward to the future. View the SURGE trailer
Race and Rights: Wells, Willard, and Addams
Thurdsay, November 17, 6-7:30 p.m.
Who gets to be a citizen? How did debates in Chicago around voting, lynching and women’s rights break down across racial lines? How do we think about these divisions today, and why are they relevant?
Join us for a panel discussion about three significant Chicago-based women activists who were connected in their reform work, but encountered difficulties in finding common ground. Ida B. Wells, Frances Willard and Jane Addams each worked to expand women’s rights and influence. However, they had significant disagreements in their approaches informed by their differing views about the impact of race and racism. The panel discussion will focus on the historical breakdowns in feminism and race for Willard and Addams, and tell the story of Wells’ efforts to hold them each accountable. We will also explore the contemporary resonance of these debates in current movements. Register to receive a link to participate.
Panelists:
Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of journalist and anti-lynching advocate Ida B. Wells
Rima Lunin Schultz, historian and author
Jennifer Scott, Director and Chief Curator, Jane Addams Hull-House Museum
Leslie Harris, Professor, Northwestern University Department of History
Lori Osborne, Museum Director, Frances Willard House Museum