FALL 2024 ISSUE - Flipbook - Page 63
Cultural
Philanthropy: Where
History Meets
Advocacy
By: Dr. June DePonte-Sernak, Board
Chair, Alice Paul Institute
T
he National Register
of Historic Places
houses the oïcial
list of more than
90,000
locations
providing culturally
s i g n i f i c a n t
architecture,
art
and structural content. The Register
was established as part of the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966
and continues to be overseen by the
National Park Service. Many of these
historic locations operate as charitable
nonproots to share the mission and
vision of their history and story telling
of the adventures of their heroes and
heroines that shaped our nation and
folklore. Out of the vast number of
National Historic Locations, less than
4% are designated to the historic
footprint of women. One of the most
signiocant sites is the Alice Paul
Institute in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.
The Alice Paul Institute is a nationally
recognized non-proot organization
headquartered at Paulsdale, a National
Historic Landmark marking the
birthplace of Alice Paul. Nestled
on six acres, the childhood home of
sufragist Alice Paul, is dedicated to
continuing Alice Paul9s work toward
securing lasting and legal protection
for equal rights for all. The Alice
Paul Institute, founded in 1984 as the
Alice Paul Centennial Foundation to
commemorate the centennial of Paul9s
1885 birth.
Managed by staf, dozens of volunteers,
and a board of directors, they work
diligently to ensure leadership
development, civic engagement, and
historic preservation as a pillar of
historic advocacy for gender justice.
Few individuals have had as much
impact on American history as has
Alice Paul. Her life symbolizes the
long struggle for justice in the United
States and around the world. Her vision
was the ordinary notion that women
and men should be equal partners in
society that is a relevant topic in many
circles to date.
Alice9s life reads like a Hollywood
story full of drama and intrigue as she
was the architect of some of the most
outstanding political achievements on
behalf of women in the 20th century.
Dedicating her life to the single cause
of securing equal rights for all led
her from New Jersey to England then
to Washington, D.C., the site of her
adulthood home of Belmont Paul just
blocks from the Library of Congress.
While studying at the University
of Pennsylvania, she joined the
National American Women9s Sufrage
Association (NAWSA), one of the
leading national organizations working
for women9s sufrage and was appointed
to lead the Congressional Committee,
taking charge of promoting a federal
sufrage amendment. She was educated
achieving her PhD and courageous in
navigating political waters to ensure
her voice was heard on Capitol Hill.
Her work was marked with protests,
multiple incarcerations and culminated
in the Sufragist Parade in 1913 the day
before Woodrow Wilson9s inauguration
with close to 10,000 marchers in
attendance.
She was a leader in the oght to
ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920 to
extend voting rights to women during
tumultuous racial times in the U.S. as
women of color such as Ida B. Wells and
Mary Church Terrell simultaneously
led their eforts not fully realized until
50 years later. Alice Paul went on to
author the Equal Rights Amendment
1923 and spent the rest of her life
oghting for its ratiocation to ensure
the U.S. Constitution protects women
and men equally. It has been 101 years
since she penned the ERA in Seneca
Falls, NY that has yet to be codioed
into the Constitution. The Alice Paul
Institute is currently active in national
advocacy to promote the ERA and
Gender Justice, cementing equal rights
for all through events such as Equality
Day in August and programs with their
Girls Leadership Council.
In 2024, the Tony Award winning
musical, Sufs hit the Music Box
Theater on Broadway created by Shaina
Taub resurrecting the tireless oght for
the right to vote through the lens of
Alice and the Sufragists that led our
nation and their passionate struggle
for equality. Sufs continues to be a
beacon for education and advocacy
hosting many preview events such as
ERA Night with members of the Alice
Paul staf, board of directors and Girls
Leadership Council highlighted with
a panel discussion featuring journalist
and social activist, Gloria Steinem.
Steinem is recognized worldwide for
her work with second-wave feminism
and establishing programs such as
Take Our Daughters to Work Day, for
young girls to learn about future career
opportunities.
The stories of sufrage include decades
of women such as Native Americans
Zitkala Sa (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin)
and Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin
to African American reformers such
as Harriet Tubman and Nannie Helen
Burroughs who understood that their
race and sex afected their rights to
vote. Their eforts paved the way for
many women who continue to oght
for equality like Congresswomen Cory
Bush (MO) and Ayanna Pressley (MA)
who in 2023 (100 years after the ERA)
launched the orst ever Congressional
Equal Rights Amendment Caucus to
aïrm the ERA as the 28th Amendment
and establish constitutional gender
equality as a national priority.
American history is full of amazing
narratives of history both triumphant
and tragic. These are the stories of
our ancestors and the legends that
deoned our nation. They share the
principles of our cultural journey
and the foundation for our current
infrastructure uniting our patriotism
with empathy and compassion.
Visiting National Historic Locations,
volunteering or joining a board of
directors provides a front row seat to
our history and opportunity to advocate
for social causes such as hunger relief,
wellness and education that inspire
people from every demographic.
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