Exclusive Interview with the Co-Writers KAY WEAVER and MARTHA WHEELOCK of WITH BANNERS FLYING from Wild West Women Film Production Company in Studio City, CA

 

 

Interview with the Co-Writers of the play WITH BANNERS FLYING by Kay Weaver & Martha Wheelock

Q by Van Dirk Fisher:  I am delighted to have as my guests today the Co-Writers of the play WITH BANNERS FLYING, Kay Weaver and Martha Wheelock, who are also the co-founders of WILD WEST WOMEN, INC.  Ladies can you tell me what is the mission of your company and what inspired you to write this play?

    Answered by Martha & Kay.

In the early 1980’s we realized that most Americans did not learn Women’s History in school, except for a paragraph about the Seneca Falls Meeting in 1848; or maybe the names of Susan B. Anthony or Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  We realized that Women in History are definitely hidden, silenced, and that many fine women artists were also unknown or overlooked.  As a teacher Martha wanted to present more women for study. As an entertainer and history buff, Kay shared in this quest.  The title song, “One Fine Day “ from her first album, produced in 1983 , celebrates Emily Dickinson, Willa Cather and Emma Goldman. More songs needed to be written. More Films on our history and artists needed to be created.  This play came out of our desire to spread and expose a chapter in our Suffrage History.  Knowing our history is empowering for everyone, and especially for women and girls.

Q:  I understand you wrote this play over 30 years ago.  Why have you decided to do this play again today?

2. Answered by Kay.

Martha Wheelock and I wrote WITH BANNERS FLYING in 1985, over 35 years ago to celebrate the 65^th Anniversary of the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote.  I was on the road as a singer in those days and had a concert booked at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles, so we premiered the one-act play at that event.  2020 marked the 100^th anniversary of the ratification of the 19^th Amendment; Martha and I thought it was the right time to bring out that play again.  Of course, Covid-19 changed a lot of live performance plans including many events scheduled to celebrate that 100^th anniversary. 

Q:  Can you tell us about some of the major leaders of the Women’s Suffrage Movement, what they stood for and the name of their organizations?

3  Answered by Martha and Kay.

The leaders we feature in this play are just a few of the many who worked for the Women’s Suffrage Movement over 70 years.

ANNA HOWARD SHAW, 1847 – 1919

The Reverend Doctor Anna Howard Shaw was born in England and emigrated to the United States with her family at the age of four.  When she was twelve her father secured 360 acres on the frontier in northern Michigan and sent his wife and five children to live on the isolated claim, forty miles from a post office, while he stayed in the comfort and intellectual stimulation provided by society in Lawrence, Massachusetts.  Young Anna did everything in her power to assist her stressed mother, digging the well, cutting down trees and securing as best she could their log cabin from harsh, sub-zero winters.

By age 15 Anna was teaching school and using her earnings to help support her siblings and now invalid mother.  Dr. Shaw had always felt called to preach, and she left her teaching position to pursue that calling.  She studied first at Albion College and then Boston University School of Theology where she was the lone woman in a class of forty-three.  In spite of taking the top score in the final exam, she was denied ordination by the Methodist Episcopal Church, but in 1880 was ordained by the Methodist Protestant Church.  

A quick mind and a love of learning kept her at the university, and in 1886 she received her MD from Boston University School of Medicine.  Having endured more than 10 years mastering disciplines populated almost exclusively by men, Dr. Shaw was, by now, an avid feminist.  After delivering a speech on women’s rights in 1887 she was introduced to Susan B. Anthony who persuaded her to devote her talents to the cause of woman suffrage.  Shaw used her considerable powers to help broker a merger of the National Woman Suffrage Association with the American Woman Suffrage Association and NAWSA, the National American Woman Suffrage Association, was born.  Picking up the banner passed to her from Susan B. Anthony, Anna Howard Shaw served as the President of NAWSA from 1904 through 1915.

Known as the great orator of the Suffrage Movement, Shaw’s 1915 speech, “The Fundamental Principle of a Republic,” is ranked number 27 on American Rhetoric’s list of the 100 Best Speeches of the 20^th Century.  One of her last public speaking engagements was on May 6^th in New York at the 1919 National Conference on Lynching where she gave voice to her firm belief that voting women would help to pass the laws necessary to eradicate lynching.  The Reverend Doctor Anna Howard Shaw died on July 2^nd, 1919, thirteen months before Congress certified the passage of the 19^th Amendment to the Constitution granting all American women the right to vote.               

CARRIE CHAPMAN CATT, 1859 – 1947

Carrie Chapman Catt was raised and educated in Iowa, a state that proved particularly obstinate when it came to granting women the right to vote.  Mrs. Catt served as President of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) from 1900 through 1904, and again from 1916 through the passage of the 19^th Amendment in 1920.  She was a brilliant organizer building state chapters then aligning their efforts with her national agenda.  She encouraged every branch to pull its weight by sponsoring local suffrage parades, recruiting new members, educating the public on behalf of woman suffrage and lobbying local politicians to pass referenda granting the franchise to the women of their state.  By 1917 Mrs. Catt had built NAWSA into the largest voluntary organization in the nation with a membership of over two million.Carrie Chapman Catt was one of the most recognized women in the United States. She made the cover of TIME magazine in 1926, founded the League of Women Voters and received numerous honorary doctorates.  After suffrage was won, she spent the last 25 years of her life as a peace activist working for international disarmament.

The younger leaders became involved 65 years after the old guard, early suffragists had been working with speeches, letters, petitions and organizing. Winning suffrage by state campaigns was slow, so that by 1912 only eight states, —all from the Western states-- granted women the right to vote.

ALICE PAUL, 1885-1977

Alice Paul, who founded the National Women’s Party, was the organizer and leader of those who today we call activists – non-violent, direct action to pressure lawmakers to enact a federal constitutional amendment, granting women the right to vote. Her early achievement was the first massive, public march down Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC, with 8,000 women, in 1913. The march gained media attention, because crowds attacked the women, and attracting public awareness to Women’s demand for the vote.  Paul also created and led the Silent Sentinels at the White House, carrying banners demanding the vote. Paul was subsequently arrested, jailed, went on a hunger strike, and was force-fed. She had learned her activism, her non-violent direct action tactics from her participation with the English Suffragettes under the leadership of Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst.

LUCY BURNS, 1879-1966   

Lucy Burns was Alice Paul’s right-hand comrade.  She worked with Paul on the 1913 March, arrested as a sentinel, jailed six times, terrorized, and force-fed. She was as formidable a leader as Alice Paul, working side by side with Paul, and in the forefront of the dangerous work of the Sentinels. Lucy Burns was distinguished by fiery red hair and a feisty, passionate spirit.  

 

Other Early suffrage leaders:

ELIZABETH CADY STANTON, 1815 - 1902

The movement for woman suffrage in the United States began in 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York at the first women’s rights convention when Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote the Declaration of Sentiments demanding the franchise for women.  It was a radical proposal for its day.  In 1851 Stanton met Susan B. Anthony and a life-long, history-making partnership was formed.  They started the Women’s Loyal National League collecting nearly 400,00 signatures demanding the abolition of slavery.  After the civil war they formed the Equal Rights Association campaigning for rights for African Americans and all women.  They published a weekly newspaper, The Revolution, and formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) in 1869.   Susan B. was the field general, the speech giver, the hands-on organizer while Elizabeth, the mother of seven and confined to the home for years, was the writer, the initial formulator of policy, the radical.  She wrote The Woman’s Bible, a critical look at the good book’s attitude toward women, and nearing the end of her life she penned three volumes of The History of Woman Suffrage.  When the National and the American Woman’s Suffrage Associations merged in 1890 to form NAWSA, Mrs. Stanton served as its first president.  After a lifetime focused on equal rights and votes for women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, eighteen years before the 19^th Amendment was ratified by Congress.

SUSAN BROWNELL ANTHONY, 1820 – 1906

Born into a Quaker and Abolitionist family she was already an activist at the age of 17 out collecting signatures on an anti-slavery petition.  She met Elizabeth Cady Stanton in 1851 and a partnership, a force for human rights and woman suffrage was created.  

Susan B. Anthony was the boots on the ground, field general for woman suffrage.  Stanton and Anthony formed national organizations for human rights, but it was largely Susan B. who organized state and local chapters to do the grass roots work.  Anthony tirelessly traveled all over the U.S. giving 100 or more speeches every year, organizing, cajoling, prodding, demanding.  She was arrested for voting illegally in 1872.  Found guilty in a highly publicized trial she refused to pay the fine garnering even more publicity for her cause.  In an 1860 speech Anthony said:  Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing never can bring about a reform.  Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.

                In 1906 Susan B. was 86 years old.  She had worked a lifetime for woman suffrage, but only four western states - Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, and Idaho – had granted women the right to vote.  The Susan B. Anthony Amendment was first introduced to congress in 1876, but was not ratified until 1920, 14 years after its namesake’s death.  

MARY CHURCH TERRELL, 1863 - 1954

Mary Church Terrell was a brilliant leader, writer, speaker and organizer.  A graduate of Oberlin College she studied in Europe for three years and was fluent in both French and German.  She was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women and a co-founder, in 1909, of the N.A.A.C.P.  As a member of Alice Paul’s National Woman’s Party she and her daughter, Phyllis, picketed the White House – stood as silent sentinels for suffrage.  As a member of N.A.W.S.A. she marched in many parades for woman suffrage.  When the planners of the 1913 Washington DC Suffrage March threatened to segregate the African American women, Mrs. Terrell spoke out vehemently against the blatant racism until the white organizers capitulated, and Terrell along with many other African American suffragists marched with their white sisters.  Mrs. Terrell was a featured speaker at national N.A.W.S.A. conventions always extolling the audience to support anti-lynching legislation.  As a well-paid lecturer on a national circuit, she addressed both black and white audiences, and a key element in her speeches was the push for woman’s suffrage.

 

NELL MERCER, 1893 - 1979

 

NELL MERCER, an African American was a picketer.  She protested at the White House in January 1919 and was arrested.  She did not go to the workhouse at Ocoquon, but she was jailed for 5 days with her comrades in the Washington, D.C. jail.  Read the article about her story.  Nell Mercer Norfolk's Forgotten Suffrage Click Here.

Other cardinal leaders you can research are: LUCRETIA MOTT, LUCY STONE, SOJOURNER TRUTH, INEZ MILHOLLAND, MAUD YOUNGER and DORIS STEVENS.

The National Women’s History Alliance (www.nwhp.org) and the National Women’s History Museum (www.womenshistory.org) have abundant information and research on the women’s suffrage movement. Visit them.

Q:  We can see today that these women have had a great influence on women around the world as they continue to fight for the Right to Vote.  Is there anything you would like to share about your observations and what your organization is doing to help continue educating woman and about their rich history and where they can go from here?

4. Answered by Martha & Kay.

The Women’s Suffrage Movement exemplifies how important it is to have a voice in our government. Every citizen has this right, and we should all vote, every chance we get, to help ensure equality and justice.  We learned from the Suffragists that determination, persistence, dedication and collaboration were key factors in winning the vote - that coalition building and education were vital to the movement.  We try to bring history alive, to let young people know that it is upon their shoulders that we celebrate the right to vote.  We continue the work and dedication our suffragists have set forth by various forms of education – films, publications, plays, presentations; to keep us conscious and vigilant to the essence of our democracy and to make the public aware of the accomplishments of women throughout our history.

Q:  I see you have assembled a wonderful cast of women for this play and I’m very excited to have been asked to direct this play for the JOCUNDA FESTIVAL’S Virtual Play Reading Series, which will be done with blocking, costumes and virtual backgrounds to make this experience visually exciting and transformative as we revisit the time in which the story takes place.  Have you worked with these actors before?  Can you tell us their names and a little bit about each of them?

5. Answered by Kay & Martha.

Kay first met CAROLE ITA WHITE in a David Craig class in 1977. Mr. Craig taught actors how to stage a song for performance in musicals. Carole had created the role of Big Rosy Greenbaum on TV’s Laverne and Shirley and Kay had an up-coming gig as a singer at Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills.  Kay asked Carole to join her as the comedy portion of the show. They put together an act integrating both music and comedy and Carole became a life-long friend.

This cast goes back to the first performance, CAROLE ITA WHITE played Lucy Burns in 1985; now she plays Dr. Anna Howard Shaw. TAYLOR HAWTHORNE was a member of an acting class with Carole. MAGGIE MCCOLLESTER portrayed Katherine Edson, a California Suffrage leader, in our film California Women win the Vote (2011), and AMY WALKER was not only the voice of Inez Milholland in our film INEZ MILHOLLAND: FORWARD INTO LIGHT FILM, but also the writer and actor of her own dramatic film about Inez Milholland, INTO LIGHT.  Amy introduced us to her acting partner, SHELLEY HASTLE.  All actors have impressive credits doing a wide range of roles and venues.  All actors are excited to portray these powerful women, to be in this New Media platform and to work with Van.

Q:  I understand that you are hoping that as many people as possible get to see this important play as we celebrate the 100^th Anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in which the 19^th Amendment was passed giving woman the Right to Vote.  Is there a way that people can make a donation to help people who may not be as fortunate to be able to see this play?  If yes, what is the link?

6. Answered by Martha.

Wild West Women is a non-profit, 501c3 organization; all donations are tax-deductible.  We are offering a limited number of tickets for those who cannot afford the ticket price. If you can sponsor a guest ticket, please go to our donation page: www.wildwestwomen.org/donate.  Thank you for helping us to spread the history.  

Van: We will be having a TALK BACK after the play reading with the artists and you, which I will be moderating.  I’m looking forward to seeing you there!  Have a great day and thank you for submitting your play to the JOCUNDA FESTIVAL.

7. Closing comments by Kan and Martha.

Thank you, Van, we look forward to seeing this play under your direction.

To obtain tickets in advance go to:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_k59inMI5QJ2pfGDmtabC4Q

Tickets are $15.00 to benefit the Riant Theatre.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. The reading will be followed by a talkback with the artists moderated by Van Dirk Fisher, Founder and Artistic Director of the Riant Theatre and producer of the Jocunda Festival.

Additional Reading:  Article: 

These Black Sorority Sisters Played Influential Roles in the Women’s Suffrage Movement 

Click Here to read this article.

To learn more about the JOCUNDA FESTIVAL Click Here. 

Visit the Riant Theatre’s website at www.TheRiantTheatre.com.

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