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Actress
Taylor Williams from the American Historical Theatre will portray Alice Paul on
Saturday, March 23, 2012 at 2 p.m. at Mount Laurel Library. Williams will tell
the inspiring story of how Paul courageously fought for the women’s right to
vote. The public is invited to this admission-free event. No registration is
required.
Taylor
Williams from the American History Theatre tells the story of Alice Paul in this
first-person living history presentation. Blunt-speaking, no-nonsense Alice
Paul was born into a Quaker family in New Jersey. Inspired by Britain’s Christabel
Pankhurst to speak out for women’s right to vote, Paul joined the fight for
suffrage in Great Britain, returned home to work with the National American
Woman Suffrage Association, founded the National Woman’s Party, campaigned
against President Wilson’s refusal to support woman suffrage, went on hunger
strikes and was jailed in order to secure the 19th Amendment. When that passed,
in 1920, Alice Paul wrote and worked for the Equal Rights Amendment, introducing
the bill in 1923. The ERA has been introduced to Congress every session since
1982, but has never gotten out of committee. (This description is from American
Historical Theatre site.)
Taylor Williams has performed in
venues that include the University of
Iowa, University of Pennsylvania’s Law School, a
tour of colleges in the southern states, and the Frazier Museum. She is especially proud of
recreating Alice Paul’s speech introducing the ERA at Seneca Falls, with Hillary Clinton and other notable
politicos present at the ERA summit.
This event is co-sponsored by the
Alice Paul Institute located around the corner from the library at Paul’s family
home, Paulsdale, 128 Hooten
Street in Mount Laurel.
