Greater Grand Rapids Women's History Council

Women's Way Ribbon Cutting: Molly Ortiz Blakely
2021-09-15 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Sanchez Bistro Alley, 38 Fulton St W, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, United States
Join the Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, the City of Grand Rapids, Lions & Rabbits and numerous community partners in a celebration of the Women’s Way Murals. Every Wednesday in September we will be holding a ribbon cutting to feature each completed Women’s Way Mural in downtown Grand Rapids. Along with the ribbon cutting these events will also include local artist performances, a video on the background of the women of the murals, and time to mingle with food and drinks!
On Wednesday, September 15th from 7pm to 8pm we will be celebrating the Molly Ortiz Blakely mural located in the alley next to Sanchez Bistro.
Maurilia Ortiz Blakely (1928 – 2015)
Maurilia Ortiz Blakely was a role model, a champion for minority women’s rights, an activist for the poor and an advocate for higher education.
Orphaned at an early age, her maternal aunt raised her to have great respect for their Mexican heritage and to help the less fortunate. A divorced working mother of five, Blakely was a force in her community and helped organize Grand Rapids’ first Mexican Festival in 1970.
After graduating from college with a degree in Social Work at age 51, she assisted Latinx students, women, migrants, the homeless, and the unemployed and helped to establish the Hispanic Institute. Among her many honors was a Grand Rapids Lifetime Achievement Award.
“This portrait of Maurilia “Molly” Ortiz Blakely intends to depict her strength as a woman, her humility and the pride she had for her culture, family and community. I was inspired by her ability to command respect while encouraging love as well as her perseverance to help others reach for the stars.” Statement by Artist Arturo Romero.
The Women’s Way Initiative aspires to elevate the historical narratives of exceptional local leaders while adding new energy and creative interest to often-overlooked public places. The initiative also boldly endeavors to acknowledge the complicated history of women in alleyways and help claim positive ownership of these spaces. Organized by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, the City of Grand Rapids, Lions & Rabbits and numerous community partners.

Women's Way Ribbon Cutting: Angeline Kelsey "Naw Kay o say" Yob
2021-09-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Apartment Lounge Alley, 33 Sheldon Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, United States
Join the Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, the City of Grand Rapids, Lions & Rabbits and numerous community partners in a celebration of the Women’s Way Murals. Every Wednesday in September we will be holding a ribbon cutting to feature each completed Women’s Way Mural in downtown Grand Rapids. Along with the ribbon cutting these events will also include local artist performances, a video on the background of the women of the murals, and time to mingle with food and drinks!
On Wednesday, September 8th from 7pm to 8pm we will be celebrating the Angeline Kelsey “Naw Kay o say” Yob mural located in the alley off Sheldon Blvd NE between the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum and The Apartment Lounge.
Angeline Kelsey “Naw Kay o say” Yob (1924-2002)
The descendant and ancestor of Chiefs, Angeline Kelsey “Naw Kay o say” Yob was an educator, community activist and citizen of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians. She was the great, great-granddaughter of Chief Maish Ke Aw She, one of the signatories of the Treaty of 1855, which provided the terms for the removal of the Ottawa from the Grand River Valley.
Yob, at the age of five, experienced her own forced move to a Native American Boarding School. Still, she retained her native language and would go on to help lead the Native American Education Program at Grand Rapids Public Schools. For three decades, she used stories as teaching instruments to help students of Native American descent learn and grow in their traditions.
“Angeline Kelsey Yob helped establish many of the first groups for the Grand Rapidian Native Americans. The turtle shows all the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians. The kids dancing represent the culture, and the knowledge that Angeline brought children. I placed her portrait within the medicine wheel because of the constant lessons within.” Statement by Artist Alan Compo.
The Women’s Way Initiative aspires to elevate the historical narratives of exceptional local leaders while adding new energy and creative interest to often-overlooked public places. The initiative also boldly endeavors to acknowledge the complicated history of women in alleyways and help claim positive ownership of these spaces. Organized by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, the City of Grand Rapids, Lions & Rabbits and numerous community partners.

Women's Way Ribbon Cutting: Harriet Woods Hill Mural
2021-09-01 19:00 - 20:00 | GRPD Alley, 1 Monroe Center NW, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, United States
Join the Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, the City of Grand Rapids, Lions & Rabbits and numerous community partners in a celebration of the Women’s Way Murals. Every Wednesday in September we will be holding a ribbon cutting to feature each completed Women’s Way Mural in downtown Grand Rapids. Along with the ribbon cutting these events will also include local artist performances, a video on the background of the women of the murals, and time to mingle with food and drinks!
On Wednesday, September 1st from 7pm to 8pm we will be celebrating the Harriet Woods Hill mural located in the alley of the Grand Rapids Police Department:
Harriet Woods Hill
1922-2006
Harriet Woods Hill in 1955 became the first African American female officer in the Grand Rapids Police Department. Her career began in the Juvenile Division, and she later trained new recruits about the challenges faced by children. Hill, in 1977, was named the first female detective in the department’s 106-year history. “I came there to do a job, and I wasn’t going to allow [anyone] to force me to quit working because [of their] prejudices,” she said. “Once the door was opened, I never allowed it to become closed.”
“Harriet Woods-Hill was resilient and humble. Symbolism flows through this piece as waves pay ode to Harriet’s hometown leading to the old-time Grand Rapids cityscape. Lotus flowers symbolize her growth out of muddy waters, all the while soaring above.” – Statement by Mural Artist Jasmine Bruce.
The Women’s Way Initiative aspires to elevate the historical narratives of exceptional local leaders while adding new energy and creative interest to often-overlooked public places.
The initiative also boldly endeavors to acknowledge the complicated history of women in alleyways and help claim positive ownership of these spaces.
Organized by Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, the City of Grand Rapids, Lions & Rabbits and numerous community partners.

Women's Equality Day with GGRWHC
2021-08-26 | MI
Celebrate Women’s Equality Day with GGRWHC! August 26, 2021
Help us to honor and continue the legacy of local women who progressed suffrage efforts and equal rights activism in our community by visiting the grave(s) of four women we are featuring for 2021.

This year, we will mark four gravesites with purple balloons to help you locate the four women we are featuring – see the suggested steps below to make the most of your visits!

Visit our website page, “Here Lies a Suffragist,” for a full description of the event here: https://www.ggrwhc.org/here-lies-a-suffragist/
Please visit our new page this year for Garfield Park Cemetery to locate the gravesites of two more African American activists. Lillian Gill worked after the successful suffrage movement, but would have supported it. And the club life and public activism of Ethel Beverly Burgess suggests that she was a supporter. Meet them on the page here: https://www.ggrwhc.org/garfield-park-cemetery/
For more information on the Comstock sisters and how to find their gravesites please visit the Fulton Street Cemetery page here: https://www.ggrwhc.org/fulton-street-cemetery/
On August 26th, find the grave of one or more of our four featured suffragists and activists.
Honor the individual’s grave with flowers, even a single stem, and record your visit by taking a photo of yourself and/or the decorated gravesite.
Post your photo in the comments section of our Facebook post honoring the day. https://www.facebook.com/GGRWHC (If you do not use Facebook, please send it to our email address– info@ggrwhc.org)
DON’T MISS THIS!

WZZM’s 13 ON YOUR SIDE will run a short feature on the Comstock Sisters at 11:00 pm Wednesday, August 25th and throughout the day on the 26th. Look for the link of this feature on our Instagram and Facebook pages!
Note: Note: If you choose to leave any flowers, we will see that the graves are cleaned up later.
Thank you for participating!
2021 Womens Equality Day Poster

The School Bell Series: WWI at Home and Overseas
2021-08-12 10:00 - 12:00 | 1881 New Groningen Schoolhouse, 10537 Paw Paw Dr, Zeeland, MI, 49464, United States
In 1917 American women were granted a federal mandate by the Council of National Defense when the wartime government established the CND’s Woman’s Committee, and 17,000 local committees sprang up immediately. Join Katelyn Bosch VerMerris (former GGRWHC board member and secretary, now director of the Zeeland Historical Society) for the next installation of the School Bell Series, this Thursday, August 12 at 10:00am at the 1881 New Groningen Schoolhouse in Zeeland for her presentation, “WWI at Home and Overseas.” Learn about the work of local women of Zeeland in creating a stronger home defense through their pioneering wartime efforts that included guaranteeing healthy food sources, raising healthy children, ensuring the health of women in the industrial workforce, and contributions ranging far beyond specific war needs and their traditional gender roles.

Katelyn Bosch VerMerris received an M.A. from West Virginia University in 2018 emphasizing public history, after her B.A. from Calvin College. She has researched many local topics including the Grand Rapids unit of the Woman’s Committee of the Council of National Defense in WWI and the cultural integration of Catholic, Hispanic migrant workers into Protestant, Dutch Holland, Michigan. Katelyn has worked with local cultural institutions including the Lowell Area Historical Museum, Fallasburg Historical Society, and the Saugatuck-Douglas History Museum. Currently, she is the development manager at a non-profit in Holland. She also continues work as a freelance researcher and writer and is recording secretary for the board of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council.

Hollyhock Lane Parade
2021-07-03 08:00 - 10:00 | MI
For the 87th time since 1934, the Hollyhock Lane neighborhood parade in July will march once again at 8:30 am on July 3rd! Mark your calendars for this fun event. Meet us at the corner of Calvin and Alexander at 8am & join the fun with bands, bicyclists, candy, and placards! To quote a past participant: this event is “oddly exhilarating”!

Ebony Road Players Presents: Loving Day 2021
2021-06-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Virtual – Additional Details Forthcoming
Save the dates! Ebony Road Players Presents: Loving Day 2021:
June 11th.
Every year Ebony Road Players has brought together all racial and cultural facets of the community in celebration of Loving Day, commemorating the 1967 US Supreme Court decision that struck down the criminality of interracial marriage.
This year they’ve lined up a weekend of virtual and in person experiences, so check out the link for more details!
‘The Loving Story’ Documentary and Talkback’ / June 11 / 6-8 PM
This 2011 HBO documentary follows Richard and Mildred Loving as they are innocently thrust to the forefront of the civil rights movement. Their actions would make way for marriage equality in 1967 and beyond. Please join us for a virtual and in person viewing and an interactive talkback after the film.

Tracing the Steps of Lottie Wilson Jackson
2021-05-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual Event
Lottie Wilson Jackson (1854-1914) was a well-known artist, activist, and self-made African American woman who defied difficult odds during the Progressive Era. Along with her eye-opening portraits of famous Black Americans, this talented artist became one of America’s prominent Black suffragists. During the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) convention in 1899 at St. Cecilia Music Society in Grand Rapids, the delegate Jackson challenged NAWSA to condemn the treatment of Black women in the South. Her resolution was addressed and tabled by Susan B. Anthony herself. Join us to learn more about Lottie’s journey.

Sophia Ward Brewer has worked in libraries for over thirty years and is currently a librarian at Grand Rapids Community College. She also serves as an elected director of the Grand Rapids Public Library board and as recent co-president of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council. Sophia loves to research and is a regular historical columnist in the Grand Rapids Times and Women’s Lifestyle Magazine.

GGRWHC Virtual Annual Meeting
2021-05-10 17:30 - 18:00 | Virtual Event
Join us on Zoom for our Virtual Annual Meeting on May 10th from 5:30pm – 6:00pm for organizational news and planning.
Dial-in number: 1(312)626-6799
Meeting ID: 99376667258
Renew or become a member now and participate in the election of this year’s board nominees!

Earth Day 2021
2021-04-22 08:00 - 23:30 | Virtual Event
On this 51st Earth Day we are remembering and celebrating the life and work of environmentalist Joan Luedders Wolfe who founded West Michigan Environmental Action Council in 1968 and was the first woman appointed to the Natural Resources Commission in 1973. Her work with WMEAC still impacts conservation efforts in Michigan today. Legislature such as the 1972 Inland Lakes and Streams Act, which continues to protect Michigan’s inland waterways from development and contamination and was made possible through the hard work of WMEAC under Wolfe’s leadership. Wolfe passed away on January 23, 2021, but leaves behind a legacy of trailblazing environmentalism. Learn more about her life and work in this recent WMEAC article.

Women Who Ran! Seeking Public Office Before the Nineteenth Amendment
2021-03-31 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual Event
Hats off to the trailblazing women of Grand Rapids! Decades before the Nineteenth Amendment granted American women the right to vote, many had led serious political lives and even run for office. In fact, before the certification of the federal amendment in 1920, 47 different Grand Rapids women had run 82 campaigns for public office between 1887 and 1920. In 1919 and 1920 alone, they ran for Grand Rapids City Commission, the Michigan State Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives—as well as City Comptroller and State Superintendent of Public Instruction! Celebrating Women’s History Month 2021, the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council has launched a new web page, Women Who Ran! (https://www.ggrwhc.org/women-who-ran/) Find out who ran for what when–and check out political biographies and data that can be searched alphabetically, chronologically, by political office, occupation, marital status, reform activity, and party affiliation. Ever heard of the Farmer-Labor Party? Tune in!

This free, virtual program by the GGRWHC’s Jo Ellyn Clarey is sponsored by East Grand Rapids Branch/Kent District Library. To register: https://kdl.org/livestream/?_ga=2.209872022.2023314695.1614020516-99878386.1614020516

GR Time Traveler Series: A Decade of Upheaval
2021-03-26 10:30 - 12:30 | Virtual Event
A Decade of Upheaval: Grand Rapids Women and Public Office in the 1910s will take us back to a heady decade when Grand Rapids women in increasing numbers stepped onto the public stage. Women had long participated in civic affairs and could even run for elective office before the Nineteenth Amendment took effect in 1920. But, suddenly in Michigan after November 1918, the state’s women could run for anything—and they did. Grand Rapids women advanced beyond earlier races limited to school board seats and competed for City Comptroller of Grand Rapids, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and, eventually, for national office. During the 1910s, which began in peace and prosperity but ended in war and pandemic, Grand Rapids women sophisticated their political game, claimed party affiliations, and carried their visions and concerns into public office.

This free, virtual program by the GGRWHC’s Jo Ellyn Clarey is sponsored by the Grand Rapids Time Traveler Series of GVSU’s Kutsche Office of Local History. Register here: https://www.gvsu.edu/brooks/module-events-view.htm?siteModuleId=75DD7655-A450-DCC5-37EC4FF9F955F3DD&eventId=7D221E66-E31B-42A9-85A4530A10F25BD8

Grand Rapids Women & Their Work During the Great War
2021-03-24 10:00 - 11:00 | Virtual Event
“Grand Rapids Women & Their Work During the Great War,” ends the 12th Annual Kutsche Local History Roundtable during March. The Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council’s Katelyn Bosch VerMerris will examine both the paid labor and volunteer contributions of women in Grand Rapids during WWI. Utilizing rich primary sources, this presentation will provide a singular look at women’s desires as well as their actual navigation of the war industry. Women used the upheaval of wartime to balance their work as citizens—they organized a home defense and contributed to wartime industries–but they also used the emergency to advance their personal training and implement their own goals.

Lesser Known Women in West Michigan History
2021-03-17 10:00 - 11:30 | Virtual Event
Lesser Known Women in West Michigan History
Wednesday, March 17th, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
“Lesser Known Women in West Michigan History,” continues the 12th Annual Kutsche Local History Roundtable during March. Representatives of the Ionia County Historical Society, Lakeshore Museum Center, and Ada Historical Society will highlight West Michigan women whose accomplishments might not be known outside their communities. Their efforts in various industries impacted untold numbers of people and illustrate how women have leveraged their abilities and interests to make change. This panel also reflects commitment to continuing work to preserve the stories of everyday Michiganders.

Rocking Chair Experience XIII
2021-03-13 13:00 - 17:00 | Virtual Event
Join the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs for their 13th annual Rocking Chair Experience!
This year the theme celebrates the women who have fought for the right to vote in the United States. In recognition of the centennial of the 19th Amendment the Rocking Chair Experience will honor women from the original suffrage movement as well as 20th and 21st century women who have continued the struggle to ensure voting rights for all.
This is a virtual event that will be held over Zoom on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 1:00pm. To attend this event please use the meeting ID number and passcode as listed below.
Meeting ID: 9541976843
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Fair Housing in Grand Rapids: Then and Now
2021-03-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual Event
This is an event through the Grand Rapids Historical Society.
Where you live has always undeniably determined the opportunities you have access to, including education, employment, health care, transportation, green space, and much more. Where you live also directly impacts how you live – and even your life expectancy. As we come to better understand more about these connections, it seems that the stakes for equal housing opportunity have never been higher. Join Liz Keegan (Fair Housing Center of West Michigan) as she shares a history of the journey for fair housing in greater Grand Rapids. She will also share information on how housing segregation and discriminatory housing policies such as redlining continue to impact us all today.

Cast Your Vote, The 19th Amendment - Girl Scouts Event
2021-03-06 09:30 - 15:30 | Virtual Event
“Cast Your Vote, The 19th Amendment,” is a virtual program taking place on Saturday, March 6th for Michigan Girls Scouts to learn about the suffrage movement, how voting affects our communities today, and how voting can make a difference in the future. This program is being lead by the Kalamazoo League of Voters and will also feature presentations from Andrea Melvin of the Grand Rapids Public Museum, Michigan Senator Winnie Brinks, and Ruth Stevens of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council. Follow the link to sign up your Scout to earn the “Caste your Vote” badge or to learn more about the program!

History Skills Workshops - HSM
2021-03-05 09:00 - 16:00 | Virtual Event
Join The Historical Society of Michigan for two different workshops on Friday, March 5th.

“Communicating the Tale: Writing Your History Article”
From 9am to 12pm Roger Gilles of Grand Valley State University will cover creating an article—from finding the right venue and sending a query letter to submitting the finished article and working with editors. The speaker will also discuss establishing a clear focus and structure, using headings effectively, citing sources smoothly and accurately, and achieving a professional level of style and polish.

“Sharing the Tale: Publishing Your History Book”
From 1pm – 4pm Catherine Cocks of Michigan State University will take you through all the steps of creating a book, including defining the scope, researching and writing, creating financial goals, gathering illustrations, defining the market, printing, and marketing the volume to the public.

The Daughters of Yalta: The Churchills, Roosevelts, and Harrimans
2021-03-04 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual Event
Join author Catherine Grace Katz for a virtual discussion on her book about Kathleen Harriman, a champion skier, war correspondent, and daughter of US Ambassador to the Soviet Union Averell Harriman; Sarah Churchill, an actress-turned-RAF officer, whose father Winston depended on her astute political mind; and Anna Roosevelt, chosen instead of her mother Eleanor to accompany the president to Yalta. Anna was the keeper of her father’s most damaging secrets. Situated in the political maelstrom that marked the transition to a post-war world, this is a remarkable untold story of the three intelligent young women who accompanied their famous fathers to the Yalta Conference in February 1945–and of the conference’s fateful reverberations in the waning days of World War II.

Solidarities: White Women and Women of Color's Activism to Secure the Vote
2021-03-01 10:00 - 11:30 | Virtual Event
“Solidarities: White Women and Women of Color’s Activism to Secure the Vote,” opens the 12th Annual Kutsche Local History Roundtable. While the Nineteenth Amendment ostensibly provided women the right to vote, access to the ballot was not equal. Because many Black, indigenous, women of color remained disenfranchised, this presentation will place women’s suffrage in conversation with the broader movement toward civil rights for Black, indigenous, people of color. Invited national scholars Liette Gidlow and Allison Lange will join Sophia Brewer and Jo Ellyn Clarey from the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council to explore diverse women’s efforts to secure the vote.
Register at this web address: https://www.ggrwhc.org/event/solidarities-white-women-and-women-of-colors-activism-to-secure-the-vote/

Ebony Road for GRPL, "Anne and Emmett"
2021-02-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Virtual Event
This is a virtual presentation through the Grand Rapids Public Library. https://www.grpl.org/event/ebony-road-players-present-anne-and-emmett/

LWV: African Americans in the suffrage movement
2021-02-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Virtual – Additional Details Forthcoming
This is an online event through the Women League of Voters GGR. https://www.facebook.com/events/1798650416965285

Reading into Suffrage History
2020-11-18 19:00 - 20:30 | MI
Reading into Suffrage History
Virtual Book Discussion
Wednesday, November 18th, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
All Bound Up Together by Martha S. Jones

Free & open to the public
Register here!
Co-sponsored by the Grand Rapids Public Library &
the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council

In All Bound Up Together, Martha S. Jones explores the roles played by 19th-century black women in their communities’ social movements during the run-up to the 20th century. Covering three generations of black women activists, she demonstrates that the “woman question” was at the core of movements against slavery and for civil rights.
Unlike white women activists, who usually created institutions separate from men, black women often organized within already existing churches, political organizations, mutual aid societies, and schools. Jones illustrates how women helped to shape the course of black public culture. More here.
Prior to the shut-down, we had planned to follow our big August 26th celebration with opportunities to talk about books on suffrage history. Now the partnering groups are taking it virtual! Colleen Alles will represent the Grand Rapids Public Library, joined by Sophia Brewer for the GGRWHC. They will sketch out questions to start, but will try to keep the structure loose and also link content to the local history of Grand Rapids’ own suffragists.
Please join us even if you couldn’t finish the books. You will be inspired to keep reading! Anyone interested is welcome, but the virtual Zoom discussion will require an RSVP through EventBrite.
Find your own books or check one out from the Grand Rapids Public Library!
As soon as possible, use this GRPL link to place a hold. You might need to wait for a book to become available. And when you place a book on hold, it will be available for pickup at GRPL through GRPL to Go.

Reading into Suffrage History
2020-10-21 19:00 - 20:30 | MI
Reading into Suffrage History
Virtual Book Discussion
Wednesday, October 21st, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Death in Ten Minutes by Fern Riddell

Free & open to the public
Register here!
Co-sponsored by the Grand Rapids Public Library &
the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council

Death in Ten Minutes is a biography of Kitty Marion, who became one of the UK’s most militant suffragettes. The book illustrates the British campaign using Kitty’s life, and it doesn’t end in 1918 when some British women got the vote. In fact, many US suffragists and UK suffragettes went on to use their skills for other causes and social movements. Kitty was no exception. More here.
We are delighted that two specialists in British women’s history will provide context and help us to make connections between the US/UK sister movements. Former GVSU administrator and history professor Gretchen Galbraith will join us from her new home at SUNY Potsdam in New York, where she is dean of the School of Arts & Sciences; and Pamela Walker, Professor of History at Carleton University, will join from her home in Canada! They will help us understand how UK and US governmental systems are different, and why that made a difference; how political parties were involved differently in the two countries; how and why both movements split apart along the way; and when history writing and language can be controversial, and deserve discussion in itself!
Prior to the shut-down, we had planned to follow our big August 26th celebration with opportunities to talk about books on suffrage history. Now the partnering groups are taking it virtual! Colleen Alles, representing the Grand Rapids Public Library, will join Gretchen Galbraith, Pamela Walker, and a host for the GGRWHC. They will sketch out questions to start, but will try to keep the structure loose and also link content to the local history of Grand Rapids’ own suffragists.
Please join us even if you couldn’t finish the books. You will be inspired to keep reading! Anyone interested is welcome, but the virtual Zoom discussion will require an RSVP through EventBrite.
Find your own books or check one out from the Grand Rapids Public Library!
As soon as possible, use this GRPL link to place a hold. You might need to wait for a book to become available. And when you place a book on hold, it will be available for pickup at GRPL through GRPL to Go.

CANCELLED--"Beyond 100 Years of Suffrage: Moving Forward Envisioning an Inclusive Future,” Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City MI
2020-10-16 - 2020-10-18 | MI

“A Woman’s Place Is Under the Dome: Michigan’s Capitol and the Woman’s Suffrage Movement”!
2020-10-14 19:00 - 20:30 | MI
On Wednesday, October 14th, 7:00 pm, join Michigan Capitol Historian Valerie Marvin for “A Woman’s Place Is Under the Dome: Michigan’s Capitol and the Woman’s Suffrage Movement”! Join this program to relive important suffrage moments under Michigan’s dome, where you will also find Grand Rapids women lobbying and finally, in 1921, sitting in the state senate. The fight for woman’s suffrage began in Michigan in 1846, when woman’s rights advocate Ernestine Rose gave two speeches in Michigan’s first Capitol. Click here for a quick Wiki introduction to the little-heralded-but-marvelous Rose.

This virtual program is sponsored by the History Hounds series of the Historical Society of Michigan for a nominal charge. For details and to register, please click here.
If you are a member of the GGRWHC, you can attend free. (Otherwise, it is $7.) To get the organizational member number of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council, please email us or call: info@ggrwhc.org or (616) 574-7307.

Women Should be Seen and Heard: Grand Rapids and the Fight for the Vote
2020-10-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual – Additional Details Forthcoming
*Access to Virtual Online Presentation* Click Here to Register for Zoom Event and GRHS YouTube Presentation Click Here
The story of the women’s suffrage movement in Grand Rapids began as early as 1874 when Grand Rapids and Kent County suffragists organized and brought national leader Susan B. Anthony to Grand Rapids. Hosted by Grand Rapids suffragists Marion Carr Bliss and Cordelia Briggs, Anthony met with local suffrage leaders and spoke at Luce’s Hall in downtown Grand Rapids to large audiences. While the 1874 campaign was unsuccessful, suffragists persisted and finally claimed victory in 1918 when male electors voted to amend the Michigan constitution to grant women the right to vote.
Along the way, women in Grand Rapids petitioned, marched, spoke, canvassed, and organized as they fought for the right to vote. Highlights from their campaign include the 1888 election of Harriet A. Cook to the Grand Rapids School Board, the hosting of the 1899 convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association at St. Cecilia Auditorium in Grand Rapids, suffragists’ 1914 “take over” of the Grand Rapids Press, and the final push in 1918 when suffragists blanketed the city with posters and flyers as they pressed their cause. Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council board member Ruth Stevens will tell this story using archival photographs and the words of Grand Rapids suffragists that have been preserved in newspaper articles, scrapbooks, and rare oral interviews.
Ruth Stevens is a retired professor of Legal Studies at Grand Valley State University. She earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, and she is currently a member of the board of the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council. Stevens has done extensive research on early school voting rights for Michigan women and has a special interest in the role of local suffrage organizations within the Michigan and national suffrage movements. During this centennial year celebration of the 19th Amendment, she has spoken to local history societies in Dowagiac, Coloma, Niles, Saugatuck, and now in Grand Rapids. Stevens was an editor for GGRWHC’s 2020 digital suffrage exhibit, authored materials for the Michigan Girl Scouts “Right to Vote Centennial” patch, and created a Michigan suffrage quiz available on the website of the 2020 Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative. For these materials and more on women’s suffrage, see: https://www.ggrwhc.org/suffrage-home/.

Conquering the Cough: Grand Rapids Women Beating Disease
2020-10-03 13:00 - 14:30 | MI
Michigan History Conference
Historical Society of Michigan
Friday-Saturday, October 2nd & 3rd, 2020

Conquering the Cough: Grand Rapids Women Beating Disease
Julie Hoogland, Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council
Sue Thoms, Spectrum Health Beat
1:00 pm on Saturday, October 3rd
Whooping cough was a killer disease fought during the 1930s and 1940s by innovative public health scientists, women on a shoestring budget, who pioneered unorthodox field studies and inspired a creative community collaboration in Grand Rapids. Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering ran one of the few U.S. public health laboratories in the nation dedicated to vaccine development, and their history in the development of controlled clinical trials is important. But, until recently, they have been left out of the standard histories of methodology and practice.
In September 2019, the Community Legends project unveiled a sculptural grouping of Kendrick, Eldering, and lab assistant Loney Clinton Gordon on the south porch of the Michigan State University Research Center, 400 Monroe Ave NW. This righting of historical amnesia with bronze public statuary honors one forgotten story of women, race, and vaccine development.
Forgotten histories and lessons will be revealed—that one creative solution can lead to another. The creation of the DPT vaccination—can shine a light on pressing social issues: pandemic, vaccines, race, and gender.
To register for this online conference.
Download entire conference schedule.

PAULA MONOPOLI: CONSTITUTIONAL ORPHAN, A CONSTITUTION DAY CELEBRATION
2020-09-24 19:00 - 21:00 | Hauenstein Centery for Presidential Studies, Loosemore Auditorium, 401 Fulton Street West, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49504
*You can reserve for this event until Sept. 24th at 7:00 pm.
The ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment in August 1920 represented a significant movement in American history. It promised women in our republic change in their political, civil, and social statuses. What followed was a decade of dispute among women’s movements, emerging from it a thin conception of the Nineteenth’s constitutional meaning as a nondiscrimination rule in voting. Why did this thin conception prevail over a broader one that included equal citizenship and gender equality? Moreover, what is the lasting role of the Nineteenth in the Constitution today?
In celebrating Constitution Day and the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, the Hauenstein Center welcomes Paula Monopoli, the Sol and Carlyn Hubert Professor of Law and founding director of the Women, Leadership, & Equality Program at Maryland Carey. In her new release, Constitutional Orphan: Gender Equality and the Nineteenth Amendment, Paula explores the roles of suffragists in the constitutional development of the Nineteenth Amendment. Drawing on historical sources, case analysis, and legal scholarship, Paula will offer broader ways in which the Nineteenth could be used today.

Reading into Suffrage History
2020-09-16 19:00 - 20:30 | MI
Reading into Suffrage History
Virtual Book Discussion
Wednesday, September 16th, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
The Woman’s Hour by Elaine Weiss

Free & open to the public
Register here!
Co-sponsored by the Grand Rapids Public Library
& the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council

The Woman’s Hour is the inspiring story of activists winning their own freedom in one of the last campaigns forged in the shadow of the Civil War and the beginning of the great twentieth-century battles for civil rights. It features summer in Tennessee one hundred years ago. And Elaine Weiss will join us on September 16th to discuss her groundbreaking book featuring the nail-biting climax of the 72-year-fight to ensure all citizens the right to vote.
Tennessee ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 18th, and on the 26th it became the law of the land. We met Weiss when she visited Grand Rapids in 2018 to talk about The Woman’s Hour, and you may have seen her recently in 2020 centennial documentaries–The Vote and Carrie Chapman Catt on PBS, and more. We can ask her about progress on the mini-series to be based on this book! It includes Weiss’s report on an extraordinary moment in May 2020 when the voice of the daughter of a slave was heard inside the house chamber of the Tennessee Capitol. Scroll down to meet Juno Frankie Pierce! More here.
Prior to the shut-down, we had planned to follow our big August 26th celebration with opportunities to talk about books on suffrage history. Now the partnering groups are taking it virtual! Colleen Alles will represent the Grand Rapids Public Library, joined by Ruth Stevens for the GGRWHC. They will sketch out questions to start, but will try to keep the structure loose and also link content to the local history of Grand Rapids’ own suffragists.
Please join us even if you couldn’t finish the books. You will be inspired to keep reading! Anyone interested is welcome, but the virtual Zoom discussion will require an RSVP through EventBrite.
Find your own books or check one out from the Grand Rapids Public Library!
As soon as possible, use this GRPL link to place a hold. You might need to wait for a book to become available. And when you place a book on hold, it will be available for pickup at GRPL through GRPL to Go
