We had a full house at the M&T Bank Exchange on April 22 for a very special Hippodrome Foundation presentation. We designed the event “Standing on Her Shoulders: The Power of Women – Past, Present, and Future” to engage students in learning about the women’s suffrage movement in the United States, and to encourage their involvement as active citizens as they near adulthood — we accomplished all that and more!
The Hippodrome Foundation presented this event — part of a 3-part education series — through the Baltimore Community Foundation’s Legacy Forward program, a grant program celebrating America’s 250th birthday. We are grateful for the support of the Baltimore Community Foundation, and to the team behind SUFFS, which comes to the Hippodrome Theatre in May.
The memorable moments were too numerous to list, but a few highlights included:
– A video greeting from SUFFS author and creator Shaina Taub, reminding students that they are the future change-makers by calling upon the message on one of the suffragette’s banners, “the young are at the gates”;
– Six energizing one-minute speeches by a student from each school, imploring others in the audience to take action on something they think is worth fighting for today;
– A panel discussion full of invaluable insights from female leaders and thinkers, based both in the history of the women’s suffrage movement and in their own experiences, and all encouraging the young audience to take a stand, become active citizens, and believe in themselves.
We can’t wait to welcome these students back to the Hippodrome Theatre in May to see SUFFS; the final stage in this learning experience and a chance to leverage the arts to lock in learning.
We extend heartfelt thanks to the students and teachers at our partner schools: the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, Kenwood High School, REACH! Partnership Academy, Randallstown High School, Western High School, and Woodlawn High School. We’re grateful to our panelists: Megan Rivers of WBAL, SUFFS Lead Producer Rachel Sussman, Tanya Terrell of the T. Rowe Price Foundation, Maria Tildon of Johns Hopkins University, and Elaine Weiss, author and historical advisor to SUFFS.