Monday, March 16, 2020

This History at Home program is postponed. Watch the Calendar for the rescheduled date later this year.

2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Wisconsin was one of the first three states, along with Michigan and Illinois, to ratify the amendment, just six days after Congress passed it. It became the law of the land on Aug. 26, 1920.

At 2 p.m. and repeated at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 19, musician Phil Passen will present “March of the Women: Music for the 100th Anniversary of Suffrage” at the Fond du Lac Public Library. The History at Home programs are free; no registration required. Refreshments will be served.

Accompanying himself on the hammered dulcimer, Passen will tell the story of women’s suffrage through music and pictures. He’ll sing songs from the mid-19th century through 1920 that describe the struggle. In addition, he’ll share modern songs about the roles of women in society, including songs about equal work for equal pay and reproductive rights.

Passen is a professional musician based out of Chicago who presents musical history programs to public libraries, schools and historical societies throughout the Midwest.

The women’s suffrage programs are sponsored by the Soroptimists of Fond du Lac in celebration of March as Women’s History Month.