Feb 28 Event to Commemorate the 1919 Arrest of Women Suffragists

The Women’s Suffrage Celebration Coalition of Massachusetts (WSCC), the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail (BWHT), the Brandeis University Women’s Studies Research Center (BWSRC), and We Did It for You! Women’s Journey Through History will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1919 arrest and jailing of Massachusetts suffragists with a staged reading, in costume, of an original, provocative play, “I Want to Go to Jail,” about the role of women from Massachusetts and other states in the final struggle to pass the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. The event will include remarks from elected officials about women’s rights.

The event will take place on Thursday, February 28, 2019 from 12:00-1:30p.m., at the Grand Staircase, Massachusetts State House, 24 Beacon Street, Boston. Light refreshments will follow. The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited.

“I Want to Go to Jail”

Staged reading, in costume, of an original play by

Pamela Swing, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Dabanka, Brandeis undergraduate

The cast is drawn from the performing troupe of

We Did It for You! Women’s Journey Through History

“I Want to Go to Jail” transports you back to February 1919, when women suffragists grappled with unexpected obstacles in their quest for the final vote needed to pass the suffrage amendment. They were arrested for picketing President Wilson in front of the Massachusetts State House and served time in the Charles Street Jail. These were the last arrests of the suffrage movement.

“WSCC is thrilled to present this reading about the arrest and jailing of over twenty suffragists in Boston in February 1919.” said Fredie Kay, founder and president of the Women’s Suffrage Celebration Coalition of Massachusetts. “We are especially pleased to work with co-playwright and Brandeis Resident Scholar Pamela Swing, whose grandmother, Betty Gram Swing, was one of the women arrested and jailed in Boston. This personal connection, across the generations, makes the production even more powerful.”

“I Want to Go to Jail” is one of many statewide events planned to commemorate the upcoming 2020 centennial of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote. WSCC works with its 70+ partners, including the BWHT and BWSRC, to present events and activities that highlight the history of the women’s suffrage movement and women’s rights.

Additional information about the February 28, 2019 event can be found at: https://suffrage100ma.org/reenactment-of-boston-protest-of-1919/

Or at EventBrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/i-want-to-go-to-jail-1919-boston-suffragist-protest-tickets-55430569325