Alice Paul PORTRAYED BY TAYLOR WILLIAMS
Blunt-speaking, no-nonsense Alice Paul was born into a Quaker family in New Jersey. Her many areas of studies and earned degrees included a BA in Biology from Swarthmore, studies in social work at the New York School of Philanthropy (now the Columbia University Graduate School of Social Work) and the University of Birmingham. He continuing pursuit of a higher education took her to England where she was inspired by Britain’s Christabel Pankhurst to speak out for women’s right to vote. Paul joined the fight for suffrage in Great Britain, returned home to work with the National American Woman Suffrage Association, founded the National Woman’s Party, campaigned against President Wilson’s refusal to support woman suffrage, went on hunger strikes and was jailed in order to secure the 19th Amendment. When that passed, in 1920, Alice Paul wrote and worked for the Equal Rights Amendment, introducing the bill in 1923. The ERA has been introduced to Congress every session since 1982, but has never gotten out of committee.
Welsh-American legal scholar and activist, Taylor Williams takes up the standard of Alice Paul. The two women both studied extensively, studied law and have lived lives dedicated to protecting civil rights. Taylor Williams explains the simple idea behind the Equal Rights Amendment: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” Ms. Williams demystifies the concept, as well as its nonratification. Crediting Ms. Paul as a supreme strategist who revitalized the suffrage movement, Ms. Williams brings to life the all-too-human woman willing to be classified a political prisoner and endure force feedings in order to elicit the public outrage that would eventually convince a nation that women deserve the vote. When Alice Paul was asked why she persevered so single-mindedly, Paul quoted her father, “When you put your hand to the plow, you can’t set it down until you get to the end of the row.” Taylor Williams would remind us that we haven’t yet finished the row.
Taylor Williams: Bio Actor/Historian, Interpreter, Reenactor, Impersonator
“Thanks you so much for the wonderful presentation that you provided in celebration of Women’s Equality Day…. Bringing “herstorical” figures to life is a most effective way to bring the struggle home to those of us who take those hard-won gains for granted.” -Federal Women’s Program, National Security Agency
“Ms. Williams was outstanding in an entertaining and educational performance that captured the complexities and achievements of such a devoted woman. Both the audience and the committee raved over the event.” -Women’s History Month Planning Committee, Smithsonian Institution Taylor Williams as Alice Paul:
Alice Paul tells of how she struggled against her own shyness and reticence in order to inspire others with her words and courage.
Taylor Williams is Alice Paul