The Great Falls Public Library celebrates International Women’s Day with TWO special events — Mary Jane Bradbury gives a Humanities Montana presentation on “And Yet They Persisted: Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment and Equality in America” on Thursday, March 6 from 6 to 7 pm and Leigh Larson gives a lecture on the groundbreaking medal winning Fort Shaw Girls’ Basketball Team on Tuesday, March 11 from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Both programs are in the Cordingley Room and both are free to attend.
Bradbury is an historic interpreter and scholar who brings history to life for audiences of all ages. She is an artist in residence for the CM Russell Museum in Great Falls and the Montana Historical Society in Helena. Her lecture covers, “…The uncompromising, independent leadership necessary for what the suffragist movement aspired: a vote, a voice and a vocation. The road to achieving votes for women was grueling, filled with biases and complexities. It’s an important history to understand, not only for the tactics women used to prevail against the status quo of their day, but for the belief that women have an important role to play in the future. The reformers and activists of the past have given us a legacy to build on as we keep the conversation alive and continue to strive for equality in America.”
Larson describes herself as a storyteller. Whether it’s writing, speaking, filming, or digital designing, She aims to make stories relatable, entertaining, and memorable for her audiences. She completed her undergraduate at the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s in International Relations and minors in Environmental Sciences and World Religion / Philosophy. She worked in Texas politics prior to serving as a minister in the USAFR Chaplains Corps and for a church in Denver. She successfully helped start a recovery non-profit before growing her skills in tech as a web and graphic designer before launching her web and graphic business full-time. This program takes guests into the world of Montana Indian boarding schools, the rise of basketball, and the Fort Shaw girls who were right in the middle of all of it.
International Women’s Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women’s advancement. Since 1911, IWD belongs to all who care about women’s equality. Celebrate women’s achievement and raise awareness about discrimination.
For more information, contact Jake Sorich at jsorich@greatfallslibrary.org or 406-453-0349 ex. 220.
Author: Staff
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