With all the election news dominating the airwaves today, you may wish for a little quiet and distance. If you do, then I highly recommend a work of historical fiction. Take a walk back through time with the book, "The Women's March: A Novel of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession" by Jennifer Chiaverini.
Here's the book's description from the author's website, "Twenty-five-year-old Alice Paul returns to her native New Jersey after several years on the front lines of the suffrage movement in Great Britain. Weakened from imprisonment and hunger strikes, she is determined to invigorate the stagnant suffrage movement in her homeland. Nine states have already granted women voting rights, but only a constitutional amendment will secure the vote for all. To inspire support for the campaign, Alice organizes a magnificent procession down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., the day before the inauguration of President-elect Woodrow Wilson, a firm anti-suffragist.
Joining the march is thirty-nine-year-old New Yorker Maud Malone, librarian, and advocate for women's and workers' rights. The daughter of Irish immigrants, Maud has acquired a reputation — and a criminal record — for interrupting politicians' speeches with pointed questions they'd rather ignore.
Civil rights activist and journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett resolves that women of color must also be included in the march and the proposed amendment. Born into slavery in Mississippi, Ida worries that white suffragists may exclude Black women if it serves their own interests.
On March 3, 1913, the glorious march commences, but negligent police allow vast crowds of belligerent men to block the parade route — jeering, shouting threats, assaulting the marchers — endangering not only the success of the demonstration but the women's lives.
Inspired by actual events, The Women's March offers a fascinating account of a crucial but little-remembered moment in American history, a turning point in the struggle for women's rights."
SHARE THIS: Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it. ~Susan B. Anthony #ElectionDay #WomensSuffrage #YourVoteYourVoice #DebbieLaskeysBlog
SHARE THIS: Voting is a right and a responsibility. ~President Bill Clinton #ElectionDay #YourVoteYourVoice #YourVoteMatters #DebbieLaskeysBlog
Image Credit: Jennifer Chiaverini.
Meet author Jennifer Chiaverini at her website:
https://www.jenniferchiaverini.com/
Check out some Book Club discussion questions for The Women's March:
Read: "Branding and the November Elections" (November 2020)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2020/11/branding-and-november-elections.html
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