THE WAR OF ROSES Get Out The Vote Event To Kick Off Women's History Month

THE WAR OF ROSES; The Women, The Voices, The Vote, will kick off Women's History Month in Los Angeles on Friday, March 1 and Saturday, March 2 with a Get Out The Vote event being held at The Historic El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood.  

Curated from nineteen suffragist speeches, THE WAR OF ROSES Get Out The Vote event paints a picture of the women's rights movement, as told through their own words. 

Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change in the Constitution – guaranteeing women the right to vote. The Suffragists, the women who wanted the vote, often wore yellow roses as their symbol, and the anti-suffragists, “antis”, as they were known, wore red roses. The “antis” were not foolish, uneducated, oppressed women; they were  often civic-minded, active, strong-willed, and informed. Both sides wanted better things for the next  generation but disagreed on how to achieve them, thus The War of Roses.  

“In all the days of history no century brought to men so many rights, and so much freedom as this hundred years has brought to women,” said Suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt in her 1940 memoir entitled Victory, How Women Won It, twenty years after the 19th Amendment became law of the land.  “It was not a peaceful period. One hundred and twenty-eight wars between nations were fought within  the century, many extending over four years. Yet in the Woman's Campaign no blood was shed, no  lives were lost, and no votes bought or sold. Reason, Logic, Patience, Determination, Union – these were the weapons which won the final victory. There is much to be learned from the Woman's  Campaign by those who would use the same weapons for future battles for the right.” 

Fast forward to 2020, the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment as it lands smack dab in the middle of the covid pandemic and election. What should have been a joyful centennial celebration of women getting the vote, became a historical marker overshadowed by circumstances outside anyone's control, again, the irony being that the final days of the woman's campaign fell during the 1918-1920 flu pandemic, known as the Great Influenza epidemic, a hundred years before. 

“It was during this time, the anniversary coinciding with the pandemic, that I came across the writings  of these suffragist women,” said Ann Potenza, creator and co-producer of THE WAR OF ROSES. “I was amazed and impressed by their stories, but I was perplexed that I did not know much about them beforehand, especially as I am an avid reader, political junkie and regular voter. I believe these  women are heroines, and I think that if we learn more about them, like we know our popstars and  influencers, would any of us be apathetic when it came time to cast a vote? And that's the reason for  this event ~ to inspire and motivate citizens to register, show up, vote; therefore, this movement lives  on to face the next battle.”

Tickets

Tickets start at $19 per person and are available for pre-purchase at www.thewarofroses.com. A percentage of the proceeds from the event will be donated to Get Out The Vote and Women's Rights organizations (list is below). Voter information and registration is available on-site. There is no charge for voter registration. 

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