Rebecca Roberts – Suffragists Invented Washington Activism

Smithsonian Associates Artist Interview Series

Welcome to The Not Old Better Show. I’m Paul Vogelzang, and this is episode #478.

As part of our Smithsonian Associates Art of Living author interview series, today’s show is very special.

We’re speaking today with author and museum curator Rebecca Roberts, Smithsonian Associates program entitled, How the Suffragists Invented Washington Activism, Oct 6, via Zoom. Check out our website for more details.

Every time activists march down Pennsylvania Avenue, protest in Lafayette Square in Washington DC, or carry a sign to the White House, they are literally walking in the footsteps of the suffragists. Even the Black Lives Matter mural on 16th Street uses one of their tactics: Get your message right in the president’s face, where he can’t pretend to ignore it.

Over 100 years ago, the suffragists knew how to exploit news coverage, recruit allies, and make a message go viral. And it worked: Starting with absolutely no power, they affected the single largest change to American democracy.

Join authors Lucinda Robb and Rebecca Boggs Roberts at Smithsonian Associates, Oct 6 via Zoom, and Rebecca Roberts here with us today, as we discuss how the strategies of the women’s suffrage movement echo through today’s activism, no matter the cause. Together at Smithsonian Associates Robb and Roberts have written The Suffragist Playbook: Your Guide to Changing the World, designed for young readers to apply the lessons of the suffrage movement to their own goals today. We’ll talk about the new book and much more with Rebecca Roberts today via internet phone…

My thanks to author and museum curator Rebecca Roberts. Rebecca Roberts will be appearing at the Smithsonian Associates program entitled, How the Suffragists Invented Washington Activism, Oct 6, via Zoom, and we’ll have more details at our site and at Smithsonian Associates web site. And, my thanks to the Smithsonian team for their help in supporting the show with great Smithsonian guests and topics. My thanks to you, our wonderful Not Old Better Show fans. Please be safe, practice smart social distancing, and remember, let’s Talk About Better. The Not Old Better Show. Thanks, everybody.
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