Women’s rights activists of South Carolina.
Brazen Belles is a film about the amazing women who led the way to the rights we take for granted today. These women often worked within the ‘Southern Belle’ stereotype to make enormous leaps forward for women.
The film features women like:
- Sarah and Angelina Grimke, who came from a wealthy, slave-holding family but became abolitionists and then fierce feminists when they had to fight for their right to speak in front of both female and male audiences …
- Anita Pollitzer, who joined the suffrage movement as a teenager, and criss-crossed the nation lobbying for women’s right to vote, and was in Tennessee when that state ratified the 19th amendment …
- Septima Clark, who was banned from teaching for her activity with the NAACP, so she formed Citizenship Schools and taught African Americans how to pass the Jim Crow literacy tests and get registered to vote ….
- And Jean Toal, whose guidance counselor urged her not to pursue a law degree because there were no jobs for women in the law … but who went on to a career in criminal law, became a South Carolina legislator and then was elected Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court!
It’s been a great journey for me to discover these women’s stories and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you. The film will also be made available to schools, because these are stories you typically don’t find in school textbooks. Let’s let girls know they’re part of this legacy of strong women leaders who refused to accept the status quo!
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