Historically, women have had to fight much harder than men to win basic rights, and that struggle continues today. This talk touches on the broad sweep of that history, beginning with the story of Maine’s fight for woman suffrage using the story of Florence Brooks Whitehouse, a Maine suffrage leader from 1914 – 1920. From there we’ll discuss the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, and finish with reproductive rights. It’s never been easy, but this talk will celebrate some of the courageous, determined people who won the rights we enjoy now. Their struggle is now our struggle.

Speaker Bio: Anne Gass is the author of the non-fiction book Voting Down the Rose: Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine’s Fight for Woman Suffrage, published in 2014. Anne is Whitehouse’s great-granddaughter. Her most recent book is We Demand: The Suffrage Road Trip, a historical novel based on the true story of an epic cross-country road trip that took place in 1915. In 2015, a century later, Anne spent two months retracing the original route. 

Anne describes herself as a “women’s rights history activist” and speaks regularly on suffrage and women’s rights history. She recently led an effort to install seven roadside markers across Maine honoring women (and one man!) who fought for women’s voting rights. She serves as Chair of Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. 

Anne is an active volunteer and has been very involved in her town of Gray, currently serving on her town council.