Your Right To Vote Painfully Earned

As we head into the election next week I urge you to vote. Recently I was forwarded an email about how the right for women to vote was hard won.  I haven't been able to find out who the original author is, but the text and photos create a very emotional and powerful story. And on the personal humorous side of reading the story I had to look up what Bunco night is!

Read on Thank you anonymous contributor.

Please Vote November 6th

Only 90 years ago... 

Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent - remember to VOTE. 

This is the story of  OUR  Grandmothers and their Mothers who lived only 90 years ago. Remember, it was not until 1920 that women were granted the right to go to the polls and vote.

The women were innocent and defenseless, but they were jailed nonetheless for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, they were barely alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage against the 33 women wrongly convicted of 'obstructing sidewalk traffic.' 

Thus unfolded the 'Night of Terror' on Nov. 15, 1917, when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there because they dared to picket Woodrow Wilson's White House for the right to vote. For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food- all of it colorless slop--was infested with worms. Additional affidavits describe the guards grabbing, dragging, beating, choking, slamming, pinching, twisting and kicking the women.

So, refresh my memory. Some women won't vote this year because - why, exactly? We have carpool duties? We have to get to work? Our vote doesn't matter? It's raining? 

(Alice Paul) When one of the leaders, Alice Paul, embarked on a hunger strike, they tied her to a chair, forced a tube down her throat and poured liquid into her until she vomited. She was tortured like this for weeks until word was smuggled out to the press. 

(Berthe Arnold, CSU graduate)

(Conferring over ratification [of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution] at [National Woman's Party] headquarters, Jackson Pl[ace] [ Washington , D.C. ]. L-R Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing, right) 

(Dora Lewis) They hurled Dora Lewis into a dark cell, smashed her head against an iron bed and knocked her out cold. Her cellmate, Alice Cosu thought Lewis was dead and suffered a heart attack. 

(Helena Hill Weed, Norwalk , Conn. Serving 3 day sentence in D.C. prison for carrying banner, 'Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.')

(Lucy Burns) They beat Lucy Burns, chained her hands to the cell bars above her head and left her hanging for the night, bleeding and gasping for air. 

(Miss Edith Ainge, of Jamestown , New York)

(Mrs. Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving a sixty-day sentence.)

All these years later, voter registration is still my passion. But the actual act of voting had become less personal for me, more rote. Frankly, voting often felt more like an obligation than a privilege. Sometimes it was inconvenient.

Last week, I went to a sparsely attended screening of HBO's new movie 'Iron Jawed Angels.' It is a graphic depiction of the battle these women waged so that I could pull the curtain at the polling booth and have my say. I am ashamed to say I needed the reminder.

My friend Wendy, who is my age and studied women's history, saw the HBO movie, too. When she stopped by my desk to talk about it, she looked angry. 'One thought kept coming back to me as I watched that movie,' she said. 'What would those women think of the way I use, or don't use, my right to vote? All of us take it for granted now, not just younger women, but those of us who did seek to learn.' The right to vote, she said, had become valuable to her 'all over again.'

HBO released the movie on video and DVD . I wish all history, social studies and government teachers would include the movie in their curriculum I want it shown on Bunco night, too, and anywhere else women gather. I realize this isn't our usual idea of socializing, but we are not voting in the numbers that we should be, and I think a little shock therapy is in order. It is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson and his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so that she could be permanently institutionalized. And it is inspiring to watch the doctor refuse. Alice Paul was strong, he said, and brave. That didn't make her crazy. The doctor admonished the men: 'Courage in women is often mistaken for insanity.'

We need to get out and vote and use this right that was fought so hard for by these very courageous women. Whether you vote democratic, republican or independent party - remember to vote.

the end

written by anonymous

2012 Pumpkin carving by Elizabeth Davis

Freedom To Love Concert October 30

The 'Freedom To Love Now!' concert has been postponed due to pending weather conditions. Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets to support this concert, Freedom To Marry, and the fight for the equality for all Americans.  With all the goodwill, momentum, and awareness this concert has generated, we are rebuilding the show on a future date, likely in the Spring.  

You may hold on to your tickets as they will be valid for the rescheduled show.  We will notify you with updated details of the new show very soon.  Alternatively you may request a refund through TicketMaster at this time.

The battle for marriage equality in the US will be far from over even after this election.  And, we hope you'll join us in the future as we continue the fight for social justice with the beauty of music.  Our beneficiary organization Freedom to Marry is doing everything possible to support the ballot campaigns in the four states in the last week before the election.  You can help by making calls for Mainers United for Marriage and Washington United for Marriage without ever even leaving your couch. Just sign up, and an organizer in Maine or Washington will help get you started.  Sign up at these links:

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/page/s/callmaine

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/page/s/callWA

Additionally we will keep you posted on 'Freedom To Love Now!' developments and other projects at www.freedomtolovenow.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FreedomToLoveNow

October 3oth live at the Beacon Theatre 8pm

Inaugural Marriage Equality concert featuring too many artists to mention here.  Freedom To Love Now a concert for marriage equality.

A very special discount for those of you that still need to get your tickets to the Concert on October 30th at the Beacon Theater!

The 15% off discount code is: OCT30NOW  

Get your tickets here: http://freedomtolovenow.com/tickets

see you there!

Update on Monday, October 29, 2012 at 7:55PM by NYC Subway Girl

cancelled due to Storm Sandy

One Good Deed by Erin McHugh

Today I'm sharing the work and writing of author and delighted to say friend, Erin McHugh.  

She is a former publishing executive and author of twenty books, including the snarky midterm elections volume COFFEE, TEA OR KOOL-AID: Which Party Politics Are You Swallowing?, and THE L LIFE: Extraordinary Lesbians Making a Difference, a photo essay on lesbian heroines. She lives in New York City and South Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Her latest book One Good Deed came from her personal odyssey to blog about doing exactly that. It's a wonderful read, makes you not only feel good, but makes you think about what you can do to make our chaotic world a bit more on the thoughtful side.  

ONE GOOD DEED: 365 Days of Trying to Be Just a Little Bit Better 

$18.95 in hardcover. You can order now at your local independent bookstore, Barenes + Noble and Amazon

Here's an excerpt from book seller Suzzana Hermans of Oblong books in Millerton and Rhinebeck, NY discussing Erin's One Good Deed on WAMC radio show The Rountable  

I wrote about Erin's blog when she was at day 265. You can read that post here.

and here's her latest blog:

The Mentor – September 7 by erinmchughwrites Sure, over the years I've helped younger, newer people. People working under me, folks new to a job, people trying to get a job. Newer members on a board of directors. Kids just out of school. Certainly I've given a … Continue reading → Read more of this post

Why One Good Deed?

Because we can do a little better....

Erin will be at Barnes + Noble 86th st @ Lexington Ave weds Sept 12th 7pm and at Oblong books in Rhinebeck Sat Sept 15th @ 7pm

Follow Erin McHugh on Facebook or on Twitter as @ErinHere.

Update on Friday, September 28, 2012 at 12:38AM by NYC Subway Girl

you can imagine my surprise when I read Erin's Post of September 26th.  She posts a photocopy of the addressed letter I sent her from Abiquiu, NM where I was visiting.  I had taken her book with me and wanted to let her know how much I enjoyed it. But I couldn't remember the exact details of her address and so off I went to the small post office and chatted with the postmaster.  She looked at my envelope and it's incomplete address, and highlighted the strange address, highlighted my note to the carrier in NYC, apologizing for not having the correct address and then to add emphasis, she drew a heart around it.  I returned to NYC to discover not only did Erin receive it but I was happily the mention of September 26th blog on One Good Deed. 

Read it here.

Update on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 12:40AM by NYC Subway Girl

and yet again I was mentioned on One Good Deed blog as I had connected with Erin and told her about how the letter came to be addressed.

You can read her blog here

HerStory 52 women. One year of history

 52 women. One year of history. #HerStory is a project for 2012 in which each week, a contemporary woman shares the story of a historical woman who inspires her. Hear elected officials, academics, mothers, filmmakers, authors, activists, CEO’s, and more provide a snapshot of these women’s lives, from the headliners to the lesser-known gems. 

Rebecca Price  creator of Chick History who has an MA in Museum Studies writes, "The challenge of women's history is the challenge of moving away from the "Great Men" method of telling stories through unique biographies and moving into a more holistic vision of social history. It’s about the contributions of individuals who did remarkable things but weren't in a position where they could distinguish themselves individually - because of societal biases of the time and of early historians. 

The more I study Women’s History, the more fascinating history as a discipline becomes. I will try and do it justice, and I hope you enjoy, learn, and have fun along the way." -Rebecca Price

Cathy Grier writes: I'm excited to be a part of #HerStory a project by Chick History.  I chose to speak about the life of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. I discovered Vincent's poetry and life, in the late 1990’s  after returning home to the US after living in France and looking to immerse myself in American culture, I discovered  “Savage Beauty,” a biography  by Nancy Milford. I was taken by Vincent's poetic style and her artistic expression on and off the literary stage. I also learned from my mother that my grandfather her father, loved to recite Millay’s work.

here's the link to listen to my episode #HerStory 33: Edna St. Vincent Millay by Cathy Grier

What inspired me about getting involved in the Chick History Project? Rebecca was looking for contemporary women to share their inspiration of a women in history and in what ways they connected with her.  Frankly far too many women have been rewritten out of history.  This is a fine way to preserve and honor them.

        read more about HerStory and Chick History:

How many women in history can you name? 20? 10? Who are your favorites? Who has inspired you? How would you tell her story?

In 2012, Chick History will tell the stories of 52 women, not through names and dates of textbooks, but through the voices of contemporary women. Chick History is inviting 52 diverse women to take ownership of the historical women who have inspired them - from the headliners to the lesser-known gems - and is asking each one to share her story with us.

Hear elected officials, academics, mothers, filmmakers, authors, activists, CEO’s, and more offer snapshots of these women’s lives. You may know some of these stories. Others, you may not know. But over the year, #HerStory will provide a collection of inspiring and fascinating women of history who form the foundation on which modern women are building today.

#HerStory is also an empowering way for contemporary women to express their gratitude to these historical women, by becoming an advocate and amplifier of their lives - sharing their stories with the larger world so that others may also find inspiration in their lives.

There is someone in history for all of us. Someone whose actions and words, courage and commitment, is a touchstone for us. Someone who has shaped our values, our points of view, our careers, commitments, and beliefs. Someone whose words cheer us up and motivate us to begin a difficult new project, make a career change, or just help us to get through another depressing day at the office. Someone who inspires us and gives us the strength to make a change in our lives.

Somewhere in these podcasts, during this year, Chick History hopes you will find a connection with one of these women. That she speaks to you on a personal level through her story, and you find something of what you have done, what you are doing, or what you have thought you might try in your own life.

So tune in each week for a new story and get inspired. And when the year is over, the next time someone asks you “How many inspiring women in history are there?”...you can start with these 52 and go from there.
more:

How do you write someone out of history? read Rebecca's piece in the Huffington Post about removing Hilary Clinton out of the photograph of the Osama bin Laden mission from the White House Situation Room.

I was introduced to Rebecca Price through a friend -media guru Nancy VanReece, hear her episode HerStory #08 about Kathleen Lee Bates   

My partner Michele also got involved, hear HerStory #30 about Anne Morrow Lindbergh 

Another wonderful discovery is the group The Edna Project led by husband and wife musical team Liz Queler and Seth Farber who put music to Vincent's poetry,  set to edgy, sometimes sultry Americana melodies. My favorites are “If Still Your Orchards Bear”, “Wraith” and “The Penitent”.  

follow HerStory on facebook and twitter

Smithsonian Folkways

August 10, 1846 the United States Congress passed legislation creating the Smithsonian Institution.

Smithsonian Folkways mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document "people's music," spoken word, instruction, and sounds from around the world. The Smithsonian acquired Folkways from the Asch estate in 1987, and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has continued the Folkways commitment to cultural diversity, education, increased understanding, and lively engagement with the world of sound.

from Writers almanac Friday Aug 10 Garrison Keiller  

It was on this date in 1846 that the United States Congress passed legislation creating the Smithsonian Institution.

James Smithson was an English scientist. He was also the illegitimate son of a nobleman and a widow who was related to the royal family. He was born in secret in Paris, and though he inherited a lot of money from his mother, his illegitimacy kept him from any of the social or career advantages that his family connections might have given him. He once wrote, "On my father's side I am a Northumberland, on my mother's I am related to kings, but this avails me not." He never married, and spent his life traveling and getting to know some of the greatest scientific minds of Europe. He believed scientists should be "citizens of the world," and wrote, "It is in knowledge that man has found his greatness and his happiness." Smithson published more than two dozen papers on a wide variety of subjects.

Shortly before his death in 1829, he bequeathed his estate to his nephew. But if the nephew died childless, Smithson wrote, then the money was to go to the United States for the foundation of an institution for "the increase and diffusion of knowledge." The nephew died without any heirs in 1835.

The bequest sparked a debate in Washington between the Federalists and the supporters of states' rights. The states' rights people argued that the Constitution didn't make any provisions for a national institution. But the Federalists won out, and in 1838, the entire estate, worth more than half a million dollars, was transferred to the United States Mint. The debate didn't end with the Federalists' victory, though. For nearly a decade, people argued about what he meant by the "increase and diffusion of knowledge." Did he mean a university? If so, what kind? Did he mean an observatory, a research institute, a publishing house, a national library, or a museum?

In the end, it became all of those things, with the exception of the university. The Smithsonian complex now includes museums of natural history, American history, fine and decorative arts, and air and space technology: 16 museums in all. It also encompasses four research centers, a research library, and the National Zoo.

Smithsonian Folkways Mission

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. We are dedicated to supporting cultural diversity and increased understanding among peoples through the documentation, preservation, and dissemination of sound. We believe that musical and cultural diversity contributes to the vitality and quality of life throughout the world. Through the dissemination of audio recordings and educational materials we seek to strengthen people's engagement with their own cultural heritage and to enhance their awareness and appreciation of the cultural heritage of others.

Our mission is the legacy of Moses Asch, who founded Folkways Records in 1948 to document "people's music," spoken word, instruction, and sounds from around the world. The Smithsonian acquired Folkways from the Asch estate in 1987, and Smithsonian Folkways Recordings has continued the Folkways commitment to cultural diversity, education, increased understanding, and lively engagement with the world of sound.

Our History

Folkways Records & Service Co. was incorporated in 1948 in New York City by Moses Asch (1905-1986) and Marian Distler (1919-1964). Under Asch's enthusiastic and dedicated direction, Folkways sought to record and document the entire world of sound. Between 1948 and Asch's death, Folkways' tiny staff released 2,168 albums. Topics included traditional, ethnic, and contemporary music from around the world; poetry, spoken word, and instructional recordings in numerous languages; and documentary recordings of individuals, communities, current events, and natural sounds.

As one of the first record companies to offer albums of "world music," and as an early exponent of the singers and songwriters who formed the core of the American folk music revival (including such giants as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Lead Belly), Asch's Folkways grew to become one of the most influential record companies in the world.

Following Asch's death, in 1987 the Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage in Washington D.C. acquired Folkways Recordings and the label's business papers and files to ensure that the sounds and genius of its artists would continue to be available to future generations.

As a condition of the acquisition, the Smithsonian agreed that virtually all of the firm's 2,168 titles would remain "in print" forever—a condition that Smithsonian Folkways continues to honor through its custom order service. Whether it sells 8,000 copies each year or only one copy every five years, every Folkways title remains available for purchase.

In the years since 1987, Smithsonian Folkways has continued to expand on Asch's legacy, adding several other record labels to the collections and releasing over 375 new recordings that document and celebrate the sounds of the world around us.

A Worldwide Educational Online Download Network

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings launched its Smithsonian Global Sound®educational initiative in 2005. This unique online resource delivers easy access to tens of thousands of audio recordings and hundreds of video features from the U.S. national museum's Ralph Rinzler Folklife Archives and Collections (which includes Smithsonian Folkways) and content from partner archives including the International Library of African Music at Willard Rhodes University (South Africa), the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology of the American Institute for Indian Studies (India), the Aga Khan Music Initiative for Central Asia of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (Central Asia) and others still to come.

Listening and viewing are enhanced by extensive documentation, indexing and search capabilities, including in-depth features in the online Smithsonian Folkways Magazine and educational resources in the Tools for Teaching section 

Today, the website www.folkways.si.edu and all of Smithsonian Global Sound's features have been strengthened and renewed within a single website Smithsonian Folkways offers downloads and streaming video, tools for teaching, in-depth features, and institutional subscriptions (via Alexander Street Press) to Music Online/Smithsonian Global Sound® for Libraries. The initiative provides unparalleled accessibility to less-often heard voices of people from all over the world. Smithsonian Folkways will continue to partner with other audio archives worldwide to increase global, digital access.

The revenue received from you for individual downloads and institutional subscriptions supports the creation of new educational content and is shared with archival partners, who in turn pass on a portion of those revenues for the benefit of artists and their communities. The development of this initiative was made possible by generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation, the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation and folkwaysAlive! at the University of Alberta.

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