Greetings!
We may have wrapped up Legacy 2010, our official celebration of Women's History here in Grand Rapids, but through your connection to the Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council (GGRWHC), that celebration is truly ongoing! On Tuesday, May 11, the GGRWHC will host a spring reception for members to celebrate successful Legacy events during March and to elect new members to its board of directors. Not a member yet? Please join us and learn more about the group and its mission. It's a great time to become a new member, to renew membership, and to learn how you can contribute to ongoing committee efforts collecting and disseminating information about Grand Rapids women's history.
Tuesday, May 11th
4 -5 pm, short meeting at 4:30 pm
Michigan Room, Upper Level
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum
Free parking and entry In addition, the late Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter is now playing at Spectrum Theatre on the campus of the Grand Rapids Community College. Here is a chance to revisit 1990s generational battles both among feminists and in the social arena at large. Wasserstein's play features a woman in a political pressure cooker. Awaiting confirmation as U.S. Surgeon General, she faces scandal and scrutiny, the typical nightmare of women considering public office. Naturally, some of her enemies are other women. This Grand Rapids Jewish Theatre production runs April 15-25 (Thursdays and Saturdays at 8PM; Sundays at 3PM ) and is directed by Jeralyn Pinsky. Box office: 616-234-3946 or www.jtgr.org. If you are interested in diving in and re-enacting the march for women's suffrage, join us in the City of Grand Rapids Founder's Day Parade! On May 1, Grand Rapids will celebrate the 160th anniversary of the city with the parade. Entries featuring aspects of the city's history will compete for a $5000 prize. The Grand Rapids Public Library and the GGRWHC will enter the competition by linking the city celebration to the 90th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment granting full suffrage to women on August 26th, 2010. Parading suffragists will be based on marchers who would have paraded down early twentieth-century Grand Rapids streets. Help us in the effort!  Ruth Van Stee from the GRPL's local history department will oversee the suffrage march during the 3 pm parade. She hopes you will be interested to do just a little research and impersonate a particular suffragist working in Grand Rapids between 1870 and 1920. E-mail Ruth or call 616-988-5402, ext 5497, for a list and to reserve your spot in the parade. This parade isn't just for women of European extraction. Grand Rapids men, recent immigrants, and ethinic minorities were also in the suffrage movement. We have pictures of them parading, and we have some of their names on the list, too.
If you don't have time for research, you can still march. We will parade behind a GGRWHC banner. Dress in something that looks vintage: for women, high-collar white blouse, a white or black skirt, and a hat (nice, but not necessary); for men, a suit or white shirt and tie--and a boater hat?! Ideally, marchers will wear white to contrast with purple sashes and will carry "Votes for Women" pennants. Signs and pennants will be provided. If you are impersonating a particular female or male suffragist, you will wear a purple sash printed with your person's name. We will also provide lyrics to suffrage songs set to familiar tunes. On the day of the parade, you are welcome to gather by 2:30 pm in the VanderVeen Center, fourth floor of the Grand Rapids Public Library downtown. Purses and other personal items may be left in this locked, secure room. We have few details about the parade at this point, so please stay alert for more information about where we will gather on the street. As we get them, more details will be available on the GGRWHC website, via email from Ruth , or by phone at 616-988-5402, ext 5497.
Through August 31, the Grand Rapids Public Library's exhibit, Creating a Legacy: The Women of Grand Rapids, will continue. There are Grand Rapids suffragists from different time periods featured. The exhibit is on view at the Downtown Branch of the Library, 4th floor, 616-988-5402, ext 5497 -- local history department -- or www.grpl.org for more information.
Whew! Let us know what you think and don't hesitate to suggest ongoing programming. Don't forget, the GGRWHC would love to help you bring an historical woman to life through research -- let us know if you would like to learn how! Best Regards, LEGACY 2010 Steering Committee Members Falinda Geerling, Chairperson JoEllyn Clarey, Program Chairperson Jennifer Marbury Bryant Kyle Irwin Marjo Jordan, administrative assistant Mary Jane Keeler Helen Kinsworthy Jennifer Morrison Maureen Fitzgerald Penn, Communications Chairperson Pamela Vanden Berg Jolan Webster |
