Sunday, August 15, 2010

Iron Jawed Angels

I have been sharing so many fun & beautiful photos of my Mermaid Art Event & I have really loved what I have shared but, I want to take a step away from the beauty & talk about something that I feel is UGLY yet, very important to each of us. I received an email from my friend JoAnn (thank you to you & the person who started this email) the other day that I thought was very interesting. It peeked my curiosity & made me decide to share this information with you so that you might also THINK about this issue, if you choose I hope you will become more diligent in your RIGHT to this issue, & I hope you will pass this along to other women in your life. Now you say what am I talking about? THE RIGHT FOR WOMEN TO VOTE! Ladies, we haven't ALWAYS had this right & there were many who worked hard & suffered to help us achieve this. HBO (I hope they don't mind that I borrowed their logo above to help me put out this message) has come out with a new film that depicts this amazing battle for WOMEN'S RIGHT TO VOTE. The name of the movie is IRON JAWED ANGELS. I just ordered my CD from Amazon.com for less than $4.00 Click HERE to see info on this film
Did you realize it was not until 1920 that women were GRANTED (don't you love that word??? like men were some Fairy God Mother GRANTING....) the right to go to the polls to vote?
The women were innocent & defenseless, but they were jailed for picketing the White House, carrying signs asking for the vote. And by the end of the night, some were barley alive. Forty prison guards wielding clubs & with their warden's blessing went on a rampage against 33 women wrongly convicted of "obstructing sidewalk traffic".
This is Lucy Burns, they chained her hands to the cell bars above her head & left her hanging for the night, bleeding & gasping for air.
Dora Lewis was hurled into a dark cell, her head smashed against an iron bed & she was knocked out cold. Thus unfolded the "Night of Terror" on November 15, 1917 when the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists imprisoned there for daring to picket for the right to vote.
For weeks, the women's only water came from an open pail. Their food vile & invested with worms. Alice Paul (above) embarked on a hunger strike & was tied to a chair where they forced a tube down her throat & poured liquid into her until she vomited. This went on for WEEKS until word was smuggled out to the press.
This is Pauline Adams in the prison garb she wore while serving a sixty day sentence.
Miss Edith Ainge of Jamestown, New York.
Beth Arnold
Conferring over ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution at National Woman's Party headquarters at Jackson Place, Washington, D.C is (left to right) Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing right) They say in the film it is jarring to watch Woodrow Wilson & his cronies try to persuade a psychiatrist to declare Alice Paul insane so she could be permanently institutionalized. And so inspiring to hear the doctor refuse saying "Alice Paul is strong & brave which doesn't make her crazy". He admonished the me saying "COURAGE IN WOMEN IS OFTEN MISTAKEN FOR INSANITY"
My dear friends, I hope that this has made you stop & think about YOUR RIGHT to vote. I don't care which party you choose to stand behind but, I can tell you that every election that comes along from this point on I WILL REMEMBER that this is a HARD FOUGHT BATTLE for MY VOICE TO BE HEARD! Please pass this along to other strong women & let's be sure & make our votes & voices heard. So, whether you just copy & use the photos because you think they are interesting or if you see them for the hero's they really are... LET's REMEMBER what our sisters did for us. Also, I hope you too will watch the movie. I can't wait for it to arrive. Let's get the word out! Let me know you thoughts on this my sisters in blogland.
And I think I'm ready to think more about the beauty I saw in California. I miss all of my Mermaid Sisters & am SICK of this Texas heat. It was 105 today with a heat index of 115. WHY do I live here in the summer???????

13 comments:

FILIGREE MOON said...

Charlene, such a great post. Equality in the right to vote is so important across the board! It is such a travesty that anyone should have to endure humiliation and aggression for this right. Thanks for sharing. ~ Angela

Jan Hennings said...

God Bless these BRAVE women who've made a difference in all our lives! I agree..it's not only a right to vote but a responsibility!

Hearts Turned said...

Wonderful, Charlene...thank-you. It's amazing to think about all they went through...so close to our time. SO close.

It's so funny that you did this today, because I've had my husband's great-grandmother heavy on my mind lately...she was a woman just like this--didn't suffer in jail like they did, but did SO much in yhe fight for women's rights, etc., and I've been thinking about sharing her story soon on my blog--I've got lots of great pictures...

Thank Heaven for these "insane" women who made life better for all of us women. Thanks for the reminder, dear friend.

Julie

Honey Lamb and I said...

We are so stinkin hot too! It is miserable! I never realized the torture these women went through! It was awful and amazing how they held strong for the "right to vote." I would have given up if I were beaten, starved and thrown in jail!!! Thanks for sharing because I did not know all of this and will never forget it!

Nan said...

Hi Charlene,
Just a note here. My Mom voted the very time women were allowed to vote in 1920. She was always proud of that.

Hearts Turned said...

Hi, Charlene! Thanks for stopping by! Fern and Faun would LOVE it if you used their photos! I would love to see what you do with them in your charms!

Hope you're doing well, my friend!

Julie

Francie...The Scented Cottage Studio said...

...women, the weaker sex ? hah.
I did know this story and it has given me the courage to stand up for myself and for what is right. I wish more women would understand that we need to stand together, work together, encourage and support each other instead of working against each other ... together we are a force to be reckoned with !!!
( ... hope your honey is doing well :)) )
(())

basia said...

Great post Charlene. I love to visit your blog.

VS said...

I have goose bumps friend!!! I LOVE history & fully use my right to vote in every election. The mere thought that there was a time when we couldn't now seems impossible...but it's real & these women were the ones that sacrifaced so we could have this simple right. Thank you friend for your heartfelt reminder of what NOT to take for granted in this wonderful country of ours!!!
Hugs & good prayers & wishes for hubby!!!
Susie

Anne Lorys said...

What a great post, it really is a right we take for granted.

Oh, and about the half doll you asked about, I took that picture in my friends shop in Belton, so it's actually her merchandise I was photographing. Sorry!

Have a wonderful week!
Anne

p.s. word on the street is I'll be in Wax. in October. Will you be there?

Holly Loves Art said...

What a beautiful post Charlene. WE have come so very far but we have so much farther to go. Thanks for reminding people of the importance.
Hugs,
Holly

Rosanna Pereyra said...

Hi Charlene,
I just happened upon your blog and as I read this post my eyes filled with tears at the thought of what these women endured. I knew it was very difficult for women to get rights but I had never read this particular story.

God gave them amazing courage to make a difference for us.

Its such a shame that in this day and age there are STILL parts of the world that think of women as property and unworthy of having any rights. I look forward to the day this changes.

Thank you for the post! I hope the weather starts cooling off for you soon.

All my best,
Rosanna

Diane said...

Charlene...I saw the movie called Iron Jawed Angels in which Hilary Swank starred. It was quite an eye opener....

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