Meet Ohio’s three women candidates for Statuary Hall
March 16, 2010 by EVE · 3 Comments »
Big news! The public voting in Ohio starts this Saturday, March 20, and EVE is sponsoring a living history presentation at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus to kick things off. We’ve arranged with some wonderful historical interpreters to portray Harriet Beecher Stowe, Judith Resnik, and Harriet Taylor Upton. They’ll be in costume and on site at the Ohio Historical Society from 12:00 noon to 3pm, meeting and interacting with visitors.
Here’s the official press release we sent out today:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Meet Ohio’s Three Women Candidates for Statuary Hall
COLUMBUS, March 16, 2010 – Equal Visibility Everywhere (EVE), an organization dedicated to highlighting women’s history and achievements, is inviting Ohioans to “meet” three of the candidates for National Statuary Hall.
Beginning this Saturday, citizens of all ages will have a chance to vote for which famous Ohioan should represent the state in Washington. Three of the ten finalists are women, and EVE wants to make sure Ohioans know who they are. The organization is sponsoring a living history presentation at the Ohio Historical Society on Saturday to mark the start of the public voting.
Actors in costume will portray Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Cincinnati-based author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Judith Resnik, the Akron astronaut who died in the Challenger disaster; and Harriet Taylor Upton, the Ohio suffragist who played a leading role in winning the vote for women.
“This will be a fantastic opportunity for people of all ages to learn about history in a fun way,” says Dr. Lynette Long, the president of EVE. “Parents can bring their kids. People can interact with these great figures from the past, ask them questions, find out who they are and why they deserve to be in National Statuary Hall.”
Out of the 100 statues currently in Statuary Hall – two from each state – only nine are of women. That’s a sore point with EVE.
“Women have contributed enormously to the history of the United States,” says Long. “Their achievements should be recognized equally with men’s. When girls walk through Statuary Hall, they need to see the women who have broken barriers and achieved success in spite of the odds. Instead, all they see is men.”
The living history presentation will begin at 12:00 noon at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, and is scheduled to run until 3:00 pm. The event is free to the public.
Voters may cast ballots at the Ohio Historical Society or at one of 35 other polling places around the state, or by downloading and mailing an electronic ballot at Legacy for Ohio: http://www.legacyforohio.org/index3.html. The voting will run through June 12.
Detailed biographies of the three women candidates and background on the Ohio Statue Project are available on EVE’s website: http://equalvisibilityeverywhere.org/what-we-do/statuary-hall-project/ohio-statue-project/.
Contact:
Lynette Long, Ph.D., President of EVE
drlynettelong@aol.comJennifer Lee, Project Coordinator
encouragegirls@gmail.com
And here’s the official announcement and public invitation we issued:
EVE | Equal Visibility Everywhere
PUT A WOMAN IN STATUARY HALL
MEET THE THREE WOMEN NOMINEES AT THE OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY
On Saturday, March 20th at 12:00 pm until 3:00pm the three women nominees for the National Statuary Hall will be at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus, Ohio. Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Judith Resnik, astronaut who died in the Challenger explosion, and Harriet Taylor Upton, suffragist, will talk with visitors about why they should be chosen for National Statuary Hall. Come talk with these three notable women from Ohio history and see why they are worthy of being honored in National Statuary Hall in Washington DC.
Ohio is moving the statue of Governor Allen and replacing it with one of the ten nominees. There are 100 statues in National Statuary Hall and only nine of them are of women. Each state can place two statues in National Statuary Hall. Ohio has an opportunity to place a tenth woman in National Statuary Hall bringing the total number of women in the hall to ten.
The Ohio Historical Society is one of 36 polling places around the state of Ohio where Ohioans can vote for their favorite Ohioan to be chosen for National Statuary Hall.
Equal Visibility Everywhere (EVE) sees the lack of women in National Statuary Hall as significant since it sends the wrong message to women and girls about the role of women in American history. Women are integral in the history of the United States and should be recognized equally with men. When girls walk through Statuary Hall they need to see the women who have broken barriers and achieved success despite great odds.
This event is free. Bring your children. They can vote and learn something about the contributions of Ohio’s women to American history.
Location:
The Ohio Historical Center
1982 Velma Avenue
Columbus, OH 43211
Telephone: 614-297-2300
Toll-free: 800-686-6124Date:
March 20, 2010Time:
12:00 PM through 3:00 PM
If you’re in Columbus, please plan on joining us this Saturday. Bring the kids, bring your friends, and vote to Put a Woman in Statuary Hall!
3 Responses
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Rochelle says:
These look great, I am quite excited about the actors campaigning for “themselves”, posing as the three female candidates. Will we be able to see images and video footage if we’re too far from Ohio to be there in person?
March 16th, 2010 at 7:40 pm EST -
admin says:
Video! That’s what we need. I don’t know — we need to check with Lynette or Jenn and see if there’s any possibility of getting video.
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Come meet Harriet Beecher Stowe! : EVE | Equal Visibility Everywhere says:
[...] is sponsoring its first public event tomorrow, and if you’re within driving distance of Columbus, Ohio, you don’t want to [...]