July 2020
July 19th marks the
anniversary of the first women’s rights convention ever held in the
United States. The Seneca Falls Convention spanned two days in 1848
and was attended by 300 people, including organizer Elizabeth Cady
Stanton and African American abolitionist Frederick Douglass.
At the event, Stanton introduced the
“Declaration of Sentiments,” a call to action for American women to
stand up for their rightful place in society with equal access to
politics, education, jobs and opportunities. At the time, women were
denied many educational options, held to inferior roles throughout
society, and unable to control their own property if they were
married since the husband legally owned everything, including the
wife’s earnings.
Convention attendees passed a total of 12 resolutions
with unanimous vote, but one resolution required impassioned
speeches before it narrowly passed. That divisive resolution was the
one demanding a woman’s right to vote.
It seems hard to imagine women’s suffrage being
such a contentious issue, but this thorny concept drove a deep wedge
between women activists, and that fight dragged on for 72 years
before women finally won the right to vote.
Taking a 172-year peek back in time, one might
not fully appreciate the bravery that women’s rights activists had
to bring to that fight. They were ridiculed so badly, sources report
a number of people who signed the Declaration of Sentiments at
Seneca Falls later withdrew their support from that manifesto.
What constitutes successful activism? Does it
require more sacrifice than speaking out? Does speaking out result
in sacrifices in and of itself? If we do not join the fight, are we
unworthy of the benefits secured by those who openly fought for our
rights? Does everyone have their own fight to fight, without
judgment, influenced by the cards life has dealt them?
These are some questions explored in the
entanglements found in Songs from the Canary Cage. One of my
favorite passages finds Shay uncharacteristically plucking a chicken
while being interrogated by her great aunt Lilith. That passage
follows:
Lilith examined Shay for a moment and then
said, “This ain’t about me. This is about you, missy. What’s yer
story?”
“I – I just got married. I’m going to school.
I’m a feminist. What? What more do you want to know?”
“A feminist, huh? What rallies have ya’ been
to?”
“Rallies?”
“Yeah, rallies.”
The only rally Shay had ever attended was a pep
rally, where she stood atop the cheerleader pyramid, one triumphant
fist pointed skyward. Oh, there had been plenty of opportunity for
her to participate in other types of rallies. Equal rights rallies.
Equal pay rallies. Anti-racism rallies. Gay pride rallies. But
rallies? She thought. Nope. Pep rallies. That was it. And something
told her she’d best keep that one to herself.
Beth, on the other hand, hadn’t heard that same
little voice of restraint. “Pep rallies!” Beth yelled, clasping her
hands together cheerleader style.
Shay glared at her annoying sibling. Her
plucking stopped.
“Pep rallies?” Lilith asked, grabbing some
potatoes and taking them to Beth, along with a potato peeler. “Get
busy, kid.” She handed the potatoes and peeler to an obedient Beth
and returned to Shay’s side. “So, you’re a rah-rah girl,” Lilith
said to Shay, slapping her hands against her thighs to rid herself
of potato dust.
“A rah-rah girl?” Shay asked, holding a feather
in midair.
“Yeah,” Lilith said. “Tain’t nothin’ wrong with
that. The world needs rah-rah girls.”
Rah-rah girls. The nerve! Shay’s plucking
resumed, but with snappier motions. “My schedule hasn’t allowed for
any rally time,” Shay said. “I have a job. I have classes.
Otherwise, I would have attended some by now.” And then Shay stopped
again. “So, what about you? What’s your story?”
“Me? Oh, hell, missy. I’m a feminist just like
you!”
“So you’ve attended rallies?” Shay asked,
intrigued to the point of halting her plucking.
“Oh, hell no! Didn’t you hear me, child? I said
I’m a feminist just like you!” Lilith shooed the air with her hands,
chasing away the apparent stupidity floating in the room. “Tweren’t
no way I was ever gonna attend a rally back when I was yer age. I’d
have ended up just like my sweet older sister, Sally Junior.”
The room erupted with verbalized interest and a
plea for Lilith to continue. Lilith wiped her hands on her dress in
a wringing fashion and stood in silence long enough for Shay to
detect the ticking of the cat-shaped clock on the wall, its tail
wagging back and forth with each click. Finally, Lilith’s
lost-in-thought expression morphed into one that told of deep-seeded
injustice.
W
Read more about The Seneca Falls Convention
here:
https://www.history.com/topics/womens-rights/seneca-falls-convention
Buy Songs from the Canary Cage here:
https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Canary-Cage-K-L-Benjamin/dp/1532834578/
