Join WRKF for radio that looks into historical achievements in gender equality, suffragists, and women in leadership roles, scientific roles, and more.
The Suffragist in the Basement
Sunday, March 2 at 8pm
When it comes to women and monuments in the U.S., we seem to prefer mythical or allegorical women – think a lady in robes holding the scales of justice in front of a courthouse. It’s rare to see real women being honored for their actual accomplishments. But for decades, there was one statue in Wyoming that was an exception. Wyoming is known as the “equality state” because it was the first in the nation to pass women’s suffrage. And it recognized that history with a statue of Wyoming’s first Justice of the Peace and suffragist, Esther Hobart Morris, which stood outside the state Capitol building for 60 years. But today, that statue of Morris now lives underground in the Capitol basement. In this show, we look at what the story of this one monument reveals about how women are mythologized and erased.
Photograph 51
Sunday, March 9 at 8pm
For Women’s History Month, an unsung hero of a scientific odyssey. While names such as Watson and Crick are now synonymous with the discovery of DNA, Rosalind Franklin remained a marginalized and misunderstood figure… until recently. In Photograph 51, playwright Anna Ziegler and star Miriam Margolyes bring Franklin to life in a story of brilliance, discovery, and the perils of unchecked ambition. The broadcast includes interviews with Franklin biographer Brenda Maddox and Cal Tech biologist Dr. Pamela Bjorkman.
The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women: Training Africa's Female Leaders
Sunday, March 16 at 8pm
This hour, we learn about women creating change through economic empowerment. In this episode, we learn about two efforts to increase the number of women politicians in Africa. We begin with a surprising reality TV show in Kenya called “Ms President,” where millions of weekly viewers watched dozens of women compete to be the country’s next “head of state,” so to speak. Then, we hear about Nigerian efforts to get more women on the ballot in last year’s election and why they largely failed.
Division Street Revisited: Women's History Month Special
Sunday, March 23 and March 38 at 8pm
Episode One: Two women—a Lithuanian-American tavern owner and a high society activist—push for a better society in 1960s Chicago. Studs Terkel’s groundbreaking 1967 oral history “Division Street: America” interviewed 71 Chicagoans about the issues of the day and their hopes for the future, and we’re revisiting some of them. One was Della Reuther, a daughter of Lithuanian immigrants who arrived alone in Chicago at age 12 in mid-winter with 65 cents in her pocket. Reuther told Terkel how she organized female workers in the Stockyards, operated a neighborhood tavern and spent a short time in jail for protesting against the atomic bomb and the Vietnam War. We follow her story to retirement in Phoenix, where she became a model of strength and perseverance for her granddaughter Holly. Terkel also interviewed Mary Ward Wolkonsky, a wealthy woman who used her prominence to help make Chicago a cosmopolitan city and create opportunities for women. While refusing to accept the label of feminist, she was active in Planned Parenthood. But as a “corporate wife,” she found her sphere limited to volunteer boards, not the boardroom. We talk to her family and friends about how much more influential Wolkonsky might have been in a less gender-restrictive era.
Episode Two: Two women—a widowed white mother of 15 and a Black school janitor—seek a better life for their families in 1960s Chicago. Studs Terkel’s groundbreaking 1967 oral history “Division Street: America” interviewed 71 Chicagoans about the issues of the day and their hopes for the future, and we continue our revisiting of some of those interviews. One was Blanche Gates, a widowed mother of 15 who left Kentucky and moved north with some of her family members who were seeking work. They settled in a Chicago neighborhood with so many Southern newcomers that it became known as “Hillbilly Heaven.” But few members of Gates’ family stayed in Chicago for long. We track down relatives to remember a mother who instilled the values of work and family. Another Terkel subject was Black school janitor Myra Alexander, who met Terkel on a train headed to the 1963 March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have a Dream” speech. Alexander was a sharp observer of society who refused to soft-pedal the injustices that Black people endured. She wished better for her descendants. We share Alexander’s unique outlook and interview some of her descendants, including an administrative law judge and a violinist.
