Rochester, NY – A cross-stitch sampler created by Susan B. Anthony over a three-year period beginning in 1831 will be returned to the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House on Thursday, March 5, 2015, at 1pm. The artifact has been in the care of conservator Sarah Stevens of Zephyr Preservation Studios.
The conservation work was made possible through a 2014 Museum Conservation Treatment Grant by the Greater Hudson Heritage Network, in association with the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA).
Deborah L. Hughes, President & CEO of the Anthony Museum, noted, “Susan B. Anthony had this sampler prominently displayed in her office when she was in her eighties, so we know that it was important to her. It is precious today because it connects us personally to young Susan and her family. This was her handiwork, long before she was the Great Reformer”.
A second artifact, a pair of kid gloves belonging to Susan B. Anthony and said to have been worn at her 50th birthday party, has been on display at the Museum of the City of New York since December 2014. Initially set to return to the Anthony Museum this month, the gloves will now be on display through August 2015.
Volunteers cheer on runners during the 2014 Flower City Half Marathon.
The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House will host an open house event for new volunteers on
Tuesday, March 3, 2015, from noon to 4 p.m.
Interested individuals are invited to tour the historic home of Susan B. Anthony, meet key staff members, and learn what exciting volunteer opportunities are available at the Museum.
In 2014, the Museum’s volunteer corps of over 120 contributed almost 9,000 hours of their time, providing docent-led tours, programs, retail operations, reception duties, and completing special projects.
For more information, visit our Facebook event or contact Volunteer Coordinator, Deb Coffey, at 585/235-6124 x 16.
Our 2015 annual Susan B. Anthony Birthday Luncheon will be held on Wednesday, February 11, from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Joseph A. Floreano Rochester Riverside Convention Center!
The keynote speaker will be award-winning journalist and author, Lynn Sherr. Sherr’s latest book is Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space. She is also the author of the 1996 Failure is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words. Inspired by Sally Ride’s story, this year’s luncheon theme, “Thanks to Susan B, we can reach for the stars!”, is a celebration of the legacy Anthony’s life & work has had on the stellar woman of today.
The public is invited to share the impact of Anthony on THEIR lives as part of our #ThankYouSusanB photo & video contest. Entries may be submitted online via Twitter, using the hashtag #ThankYouSusanB, or Facebook, by posting the submission to the Museum page. Submissions will be accepted through February 4, 2015. Selected entries will be screened at the luncheon on February 11. One entry will be randomly chosen to receive a signed copy of Lynn Sherr’s Sally Ride: America’s First Woman in Space.
If you’re a reader of CITY Newspaper, you may have seen a familiar face this afternoon. Anthony Museum President & CEO, Deborah Hughes, recently sat down with CITY’s Christine Carrie Fien to discuss the co-opting of Susan B. Anthony’s name by organizations in ways incompatible with who the great reformer was and the causes for which she stood.
Mark your calendar: The United Way’s 2014 #ROCtheDay is December 2nd!
Between now and November 14th, you can spread the word by entering the “Ready to ROC” photo & video contest. Four winners will be randomly chosen to receive an extra $500 for the organization of their choice.
The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House is supported primarily through the contributions of its members and donors. It is not affiliated with other organizations bearing her name.
Rochester, NY – Our local community is proud of its internationally famous woman’s rights champion: Susan B. Anthony. Visitors come from around the world to visit her National Historic Landmark in this city, which was her home and headquarters for forty years and is now the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House.
At the time of her death in 1906, one reporter commented, “The death of Susan B. Anthony removes the greatest woman that this country has produced. That may seem to be an extravagant statement, but history will sustain it.” (Chattanooga, Tennessee News) Even in her generation, she won the respect of those who disagreed with her politics. The Brooklyn, NY, Eagle described woman’s suffrage as “one of the world’s lost causes”, but said of Anthony, “Anyone who met her or heard her on the platform was won by her honesty and sincerity and by her pungent common sense.”
“She was a human being, not a saint,” admits Deborah L. Hughes, President & CEO of the Anthony Museum, “but even her adversaries respected her character and courage. She is a role model for anyone who wants to live an ethical life of meaning and purpose.”
The recent activities of the Susan B. Anthony List, a 501(c)(4) organization, and its affiliated political action committee, the SBA List Candidate Fund, have raised concerns for the Anthony Museum & those dedicated to protecting the legacy of the great reformer.
The List’s assertions about Susan B. Anthony’s position on abortion are historically inaccurate. “We can make room for a different interpretation of history, and we certainly support political engagement,” says Hughes, “but their tactics repeatedly cross a line that is outrageous and inconsistent with who Susan B. Anthony was. Her good character is being defamed by their actions. People are outraged by their actions, causing harm to Anthony’s name and the mission of our Museum.”
The most recent example is an election mailer that voters in Iowa received this week. The outside of the mailer looks like an official announcement of a disease outbreak, “PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT: CHILDREN IN YOUR AREA ARE VULNERABLE TO A PUBLIC HEALTH THREAT THAT CONTINUES UNCONTROLLED. . .” Inside, it diagnoses that public health threat as the Democratic Senatorial candidate.
When contacted by press about the mailing, Mallory Quigley, spokesperson for The List, wrote in an email, “Abortion is a very serious public health risk both for the child whose life is ended and the mother who may suffer health complications. Voters deserve to know where their candidates stand on this life and death issue.”
The Anthony Museum is dedicated to preserving and interpreting Susan B. Anthony’s life & work in a historically accurate and responsible manner. Unfortunately, the confusion that results from the actions of The List and its affiliates is not new. Hughes has continually addressed the matter, including in a 2012 interview with Lauren Feeney of BillMoyers.com.
“Depending on how you feel about the political issue, you might say The List and this mailer are ‘brilliant’ or ‘horrific.’ That isn’t our issue,” says Hughes. “Our concern is that a national political lobbying group is using Susan B. Anthony’s good name for their benefit, and they are damaging her reputation in the process.”
Image Credit: Amy Kernan, Davenport, Iowa (as published by Buzzfeed.com)
