Elizabeth & Me

Women's Rights National Historical Park, together with the Friends of Women's Rights National Historical Park group, joined together on Sunday, November 12th for celebration of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's birthday. The day was a celebration of the life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton as well as marking the 185th anniversary of her birth.

The day's activities were specifically designed to educate girls about the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Girls from local middle and high schools came to the park as guests and spent the afternoon in activities designed to help them learn about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her work in the women's rights movement, and how that work effects them today.

The activities began with a luncheon. Here, the girls received an introduction to Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her struggle for women's rights from the park's Chief of Interpretation, Vivien Rose. The girls also had the opportunity to get to know each other, and to meet other girls who were interested in Women's History.

After lunch, the party had a brief tour of the "First Wave" Statue Exhibit in the Visitor Center, and a tour of the Wesleyan Chapel where the First Women's Rights Convention took place on July 19th and 20th, 1848.

Next, the girls were broken up into three groups to attend separate sessions. These sessions allowed the girls to connect with the work of Elizabeth Cady Stanton in workshops. These dynamic workshops focused on three different ways to connect with Stanton's work. The first was entitled "Declaring my Sentiments", and allowed the girls to create a personal mission statement for themselves. The second workshop was "It's All About Me", about the importance of standing for what you believe in. The third workshop was "Girls of Vision", which focused on thinking about the future.

After the workshops, the groups were brought back together in the Visitor Center theater for a panel discussion. Jeanelle Bovell and Alexandra Collier, students at Wells College, shared ideas to help inspire the girls to believe in themselves and prepare for bright futures. Park Superintendent, Josie Fernandez, also addressed the attendees and urged them to continue in the foot steps of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

The afternoon's activities were ended by a singing of "Happy Birthday" to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, after which cake, coffee, and cocoa were served to all.

As the day's activities came to a close, the attendees had a better understanding of Elizabeth Cady Stanton's struggle for women's rights, and perhaps had found ways in which to carry forth her torch in their own lives.

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