NEW BOOKS...WITH A NOVA CONNECTION
RIF of NOVA celebrates new books from writers and illustrators with a NOVA connection, with interviews, background, and author information. Our first pick could not be more relevant to our 2020 Appeal: Votes for Women -- Votes for Books!
The Suffragists Playbook, Your Guide to Changing the World is geared to readers 12 and up. What a perfect read for the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
As most know, the women’s suffrage movement was decades in the making and came with many harsh setbacks. But it resulted in a permanent victory: women’s right to vote. How did the suffragists do it? An eye-opening look at their playbook shows that some of their strategies seem oddly familiar. Women’s marches at inauguration time? Check. Publicity stunts, optics, and influencers? They practically invented them. Petitions, lobbying, speeches, raising money, and writing articles? All of that, too.
From moments of inspiration to some of the movement’s darker aspects--including the racism of some suffragist leaders, violence against picketers, and hunger strikes in jail—this clear-eyed view takes in the roles of key figures: Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frances Willard, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, and many more.
The book was written and is narrated by Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts. Their friendship goes back generations (to their grandmothers, Lady Bird Johnson and Lindy Boggs, and their mothers, Lynda Robb* and Cokie Roberts), this unique melding of seminal history and smart tactics is sure to capture the attention of activists-in-the-making today. Both authors appeared in a National Archives discussion about their new book that took place in August. To see that interview, click here.
The Suffragists Playbook, Your Guide to Changing the World is geared to readers 12 and up. What a perfect read for the centennial celebration of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
As most know, the women’s suffrage movement was decades in the making and came with many harsh setbacks. But it resulted in a permanent victory: women’s right to vote. How did the suffragists do it? An eye-opening look at their playbook shows that some of their strategies seem oddly familiar. Women’s marches at inauguration time? Check. Publicity stunts, optics, and influencers? They practically invented them. Petitions, lobbying, speeches, raising money, and writing articles? All of that, too.
From moments of inspiration to some of the movement’s darker aspects--including the racism of some suffragist leaders, violence against picketers, and hunger strikes in jail—this clear-eyed view takes in the roles of key figures: Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Frances Willard, Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, and many more.
The book was written and is narrated by Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts. Their friendship goes back generations (to their grandmothers, Lady Bird Johnson and Lindy Boggs, and their mothers, Lynda Robb* and Cokie Roberts), this unique melding of seminal history and smart tactics is sure to capture the attention of activists-in-the-making today. Both authors appeared in a National Archives discussion about their new book that took place in August. To see that interview, click here.
In the words of the authors:
Our foremothers didn’t just make the world a better place; they left future generations an arsenal of tactics to achieve their goals. They learned so much through painful trial and error, and we can’t afford to let it be forgotten—including their mistakes. Starting with virtually no political power or public support, a diverse group of suffragists effected the largest single change to American democracy, without resorting to armed rebellion or overthrowing the government. They were fearless, creative, tenacious, and radical. They were also, just as we are today, deeply flawed and human. We find that liberating. You don’t have to be perfect to make the world a better place; you just have to step up.
As we celebrate the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, a lot of the hoopla focuses on the pageantry: the sashes, banners, hats, and dresses. We love the pageantry; it was an intentional and effective political tactic. But the costumes tend to make it feel like the suffrage movement belongs in another time, when in fact their strategies and rhetoric can be incredibly effective for today’s activists. That’s why this isn’t just a history book, but a playbook.
It was important to us that the tactics be genuinely practical. Some of our children want to save the planet, and some just want to save puppies. We hope the lessons in our book apply to both.
Our foremothers didn’t just make the world a better place; they left future generations an arsenal of tactics to achieve their goals. They learned so much through painful trial and error, and we can’t afford to let it be forgotten—including their mistakes. Starting with virtually no political power or public support, a diverse group of suffragists effected the largest single change to American democracy, without resorting to armed rebellion or overthrowing the government. They were fearless, creative, tenacious, and radical. They were also, just as we are today, deeply flawed and human. We find that liberating. You don’t have to be perfect to make the world a better place; you just have to step up.
As we celebrate the centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment, a lot of the hoopla focuses on the pageantry: the sashes, banners, hats, and dresses. We love the pageantry; it was an intentional and effective political tactic. But the costumes tend to make it feel like the suffrage movement belongs in another time, when in fact their strategies and rhetoric can be incredibly effective for today’s activists. That’s why this isn’t just a history book, but a playbook.
It was important to us that the tactics be genuinely practical. Some of our children want to save the planet, and some just want to save puppies. We hope the lessons in our book apply to both.
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Lucinda Robb was project director for Our Mothers Before Us: Women and Democracy, 1789–1920 at the Center for Legislative Archives. She and her family live in Northern Virginia.
Photo: Karen Kasmauski |
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Rebecca Boggs Roberts is the author of Suffragists in Washington, DC: The 1913 Parade and the Fight for the Vote and Historic Congressional Cemetery. She and her family live in Washington, DC.
Photo: Moshe Zusman |
*Lynda Robb is a member of the RIF of NOVA Advisory Board.
Cover image used with permission. |
