Author Archives: Theresa

World Book Day

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There seems to be a day for everything–ice cream, pickles, beer–you name it and you can celebrate it.

Today is World Book Day. As an avid reader and a painstaking writer, this is my kind of day.

This special day for books has me thinking about an event I attended earlier this week. A local book club chose my recent Angels of the Underground as their April book, and invited me to the meeting to talk about the book. This club has been active since the 1930s, and its members are serious about their love of books. (Its business meetings are convened with the sharp rap of a gavel.) The members prefer to read nonfiction and especially like books that deal with women’s issues. We all had a wonderful conversation about Angels that stretched beyond my presentation into the cheesecake-and-coffee social time.

A couple of days later, the book club sent a lovely flower arrangement as a thank you. Seems like I should have been the one to send the flowers!

book club flowers

How to Find Good Books

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Much of my life is focused on reading and writing. I’m always reading two or three books at a time, usually one that I’m reviewing and a couple others for leisure. Then there are the ones I read for my own research and for preparing lectures. Books, books, books.

... embroidery Cute book shelf ...(Painting by Jorge Cruz)

How can you find books that you might like? One way is to look on one of the big book websites like Amazon. If you plug in a title or a subject, Amazon will make recommendations.

You can ask a librarian. Some of them, like Becky Spratford, are specially training to give readers advice.

You can read book industry publications. Publishers Weekly includes a Books of the Week feature that highlights a variety of genres.

You can follow editors, publishers, and writers at online places like Facebook and Twitter. There you can specifically tailor your followings to your reading interests. For those of you who like to read about early American history, for instance, there is a gold mine of reading suggestions in The Junto’s version of March Madness.

So fill your bookshelves. There’s lots to choose from.

 

International Women’s Day

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Wednesday, March 8 is International Women’s Day.

Image result for international women's day 2017

As a follow up to the tremendously successful Women’s March on Washington that took place in January, March 8 has been designated “A Day Without a Woman,” to highlight women’s invaluable contributions to the economy, community, and family. Here are the details of the event. Do what you can to contribute to the movement. I’ll be wearing red.

rise-of-the-woman

It’s Women’s History Month

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In my line of work as a women’s historian, every month is women’s history month. Still, it’s nice to have a month designated for a special observation of the history of those who make up more than half of the population.

2017 Poster

This year’s theme is trailblazing women in labor and business. One of the women being honored by the National Women’s History Project is Kate Mullany, who in 1864 started what is considered to be the first all-women union in the United States, the Collar Laundry Union of Troy, New York. After a five-day strike, laundry owners began to capitulate to the workers’ demands and implemented a 25% pay hike. Women continue to be an indispensable part of working-class activism into the 21st century.

 

Alice Paul’s Early Birthday Present

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Alice Paul, creator of the Equal Rights Amendment, was born on this day, January 11, 1885.

(Alice Paul Institute)

She was raised as a Quaker on a small farm in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. She graduated from Swarthmore in 1905, then went to England to continue her studies. While there, Paul became involved with the British women’s suffrage movement. Inspired by its political strategies and use of public demonstrations, she returned to the United States and began working on securing a constitutional amendment for women’s suffrage.

Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the launch of the perpetual delegation at the White House gates. Considering the timing, I’ve always thought of that as Alice Paul’s early birthday present to herself. She heated up the public drama of the suffrage movement at the beginning of a new year, probably hoping that by its close, her goal would be achieved.

It wasn’t. But the perpetual delegation ensured that the topic of women’s suffrage was never out of the public eye. President Wilson and members of Congress had to confront it, and eventually they embraced it.

As much as I admire Alice Paul–and I do, very much, especially for her willingness to endure force feedings–I have to remember her spectacular fail on racial equality. Paul didn’t treat white and African American suffrage supporters equally. She viewed the fight for racial equality as one for African Americans. Like many reformers of her time, race limited her vision.