Carnegie Carnegie presents The Woman's Hour: 100 Years and Counting ...

On March 6, jazz and blues vocalist Jessica Lee performed a beautiful tribute concert to Pittsburgh’s own jazz innovator, Maxine Sullivan. That concert became the first and last live, onstage performance in our 2020 Woman’s Hour program series due to the Music Hall’s abrupt closure due to covid-19.

It seemed certain that our 19th Amendment Centennial Celebration would become another casualty of the pandemic. But determination met with opportunity as we welcomed our summer intern, Breanna McCann, to the team. (How on earth does one design an experiential learning opportunity during a forced closure?) Through virtual collaboration with Breanna, we filled our Woman’s Hour website page with fantastic digital content: trivia, learning resources, biographies honoring some of the brave women who fought for suffrage and much more, earning a spot on the National Women’s Vote Centennial online exhibitions list.

As we learned more about the suffrage movement and the 19th Amendment, Breanna led us to her mentor, Director of Women’s Leadership and Mentorship Program at Robert Morris University, Amanda Neatrour, who also happened to perform classical opera on our Music Hall Stage.

As a side note: 1) the arts world really is that small; and 2) phenomenal women often wear many, varied hats. Conversations with Amanda uncovered the reality that the fight for universal suffrage did not end in 1920.

Far from it.

There is much yet to discuss about the 100 years following the 19th Amendment and issues that women in various communities still face today with access to voting and holding political office.

Amanda introduced us to Jessie Ramey, her co-commissioner serving the City of Pittsburgh’s Gender Equity Commission. Dr. Ramey, founding director of the Women’s Institute at Chatham University, enthusiastically agreed to moderate a virtual panel discussion addressing the gaps in accessibility to voting that women face today.

Amanda and Jessie helped us to identify and assemble an eclectic and expert panel of women leaders representing diverse communities and intersections within those communities within our region.

A virtual panel discussion is indeed a departure from the live, onstage programming our patrons have come to expect; we will return to the Music Hall as soon as it is safe to do so. In the meantime, we invite you to join us for an important and engaging conversation.

Panelists are Jessica Benham (State Representative candidate), Dr. Dana Brown (executive director, PA Center for Women and Politics), Monica Ruiz-Caraballo (executive director, Casa San José), and Ciora Thomas (founder and president, Sisters PGH) as we explore the journey to women’s suffrage and where we have yet to go. Our state representative Anita Kulik will introduce the program.

The Woman’s Hour: 100 Years and Counting… will take place 7 p.m. Aug. 18. The free program will be presented on Zoom to the first 100 registrants. The discussion will also be streamed live on our Facebook page. Audiences on both platforms will be able to participate in the Q&A.

For more information and registration, visit CarnegieCarnegie.org/Upcoming-Events or call 412-276-3456 x6.

Melanie Paglia is the director of the Music Hall at the Carnegie Carnegie.