DHughes

Susan B. Anthony vs. The List

Every election cycle, the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House is barraged with inquiries about the Susan B. Anthony List*.  “The List” is a PAC, a political action committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates. We have no affiliation with “The List”, and we find their use of Susan B. Anthony’s name in support of their agenda to be misleading, deceptive, and damaging to Anthony’s legacy.

For decades, “The List” has been supporting candidates who promise to: 1. Defund Planned Parenthood, 2. Appoint only “pro-life” judges, and 3. Support overturning Roe v. Wade.

In the past, we have responded to inquiries about “The List” by clarifying the historical record about what Susan B. Anthony said or didn’t say about abortion (she said very little). Our website contains several articles that cover this in depth. (see below)

However, with the recent leak of the draft Supreme Court opinion in regard to Roe v. Wade, “The List” is getting media attention as they anticipate a victory for their anti-woman, anti-democracy agenda. They proclaim in their mission statement: “If Roe is indeed overturned, our job will be to build consensus for the strongest protections possible for unborn children and women in every legislature and in Congress.” 

But Roe v. Wade is not just about abortion access or reproductive choice; that is another deception. 

What is at stake is perhaps the most essential of our inalienable human rights: the right of an individual to make critical decisions about her (or his) own physical body in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. Susan B. Anthony, in her own words, stood for “woman’s right to control of her own person.”

If this right is compromised so profoundly, all other human rights are fragile: freedom of  religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and even the freedom to elect a government of the people, by the people, for ALL the people. Susan B. Anthony fought her whole life to secure these inalienable rights, and this fight is as relevant as ever.

To suggest that Susan B. Anthony would support government intervention in a woman’s decision about a pregnancy is abhorrent. To associate Susan B. Anthony’s name with any action that would criminalize a woman’s right to make decisions affecting her body, health, and welfare is a bizarre and dangerous distortion of Anthony’s life and work. 

As the organization that has preserved Susan B. Anthony’s National Historic Landmark home and interpreted her life and work for more than 75 years, the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House goes on record in opposition to The List and their misappropriation of her name. We stand with Susan B. Anthony for a woman’s right to control of her own person.

Deborah L. Hughes
President & CEO
National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House

*The Susan B. Anthony List rebranded as Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America in June 2022.

Pertinent Website Articles:

https://susanb.org/misrepresenting-susan-b-anthony-on-abortion/

https://susanb.org/were-not-that-susan-b-anthony/

https://susanb.org/anthony-museum-raises-concern-over-continued-misuse-of-anthonys-name-and-legacy/

https://susanb.org/rochester-icon-defamed/

Allison Hinman

Specialty Tour Announced

Join the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House for a specialty tour offering on Sunday, June 19 at 2 pm.

The tour will discuss the role of the media in the 19th century and how the legendary American civil rights leader, Susan B. Anthony carefully curated her public image. The tour also explores the great reformers Frederick Douglass and Ida B. Wells and how they used their words as agents of change.

After the tour, we invite you to a round table discussion in our Carriage House.

Click here to register for this tour.

DHughes

Fire at Our National Landmark

by Deborah L. Hughes, President & CEO

We had a fire at the National Landmark Susan B. Anthony House last night. Fortunately, fire damage was limited to the back porch, where the fire started. Our surveillance cameras show an individual at the back door moments before the flames broke out. Our fire detection system triggered an alarm and the Rochester Fire Department arrived in minutes.

We are so grateful to Chief Joseph Luna and the amazing team of firefighters who managed to contain the fire quickly before it spread to the interior of the building. They exceeded all protocols to keep the House and its historic contents safe from the fire, smoke, and water damage. This might have been a tragic loss of a national historic treasure. Instead, it is a story of a job well done by first responders who care deeply about life, our community, and our cultural heritage.

To read about the fire in the media, click on a link below.

WXXI coverage

CNN coverage


Victoria Brzustowicz

Anthony Museum Welcomes New Board Members

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House announced today that five new board members have been elected to serve on the Museum’s Board of Trustees. The new board members were installed as of May 27, 2021 to serve a three-year term. These board members are:

Emily R. L. Cohen—senior associate at Harter Secrest & Emery. JD, magna cum laude, from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and BA from University of Rochester

Gillian Conde—Vice President of DePaul Properties and a graduate of Nazareth College

Diane McCue – retired General Manager, Printing Plates Division, and Vice President, Eastman Kodak Company; MBA Simon School of Business, University of Rochester,  BS SUNY Brockport

Mary Beth Morelle –retired educator, MA SUNY Brockport, and BA Nazareth College

Sharon Salluzzo– retired librarian and educator

The following slate of officers was elected for 2021 – 2022:

Jane Gallagher Silverstein – Chair

Catherine Gueli – Vice Chair

Linda Betstadt – Secretary

Craig Zicari – Treasurer

Photos and biographies for all current Trustees are available here:

Trustees & Staff
Victoria Brzustowicz

2021 Salute to Nurses

An Open Letter from the Nursing Friends of The National Susan B. Anthony Museum and House

2021 National Nurses Week –  The Year of the Nurse

Click here to listen to the reading!

Dear Nurses,

We congratulate you, Nurses, for contributing to the health and well-being of  persons and communities during a tumultuous year of the Covid-19 pandemic.  We honor  you for caring for others in wellness and sickness.  Nurses are recognized for being the most trusted health care professionals in the United States for good reason.

We applaud you, Nurses, for providing incredible patient care for persons, ill with the Covid-19  virus, doing everything you can to make sure your patients have the best chance of survival.  We celebrate your victories and mourn your losses with you.

We admire the physical and mental risks that Nurses take, as you care for patients and face your own vulnerabilities, to a virus that  is still spreading in variants across the country.  We appreciate the expertise and sacrifice of all Nurses caring for critically ill persons.  We also also honor Nurses administering Covid-19 Vaccinations while promoting access and encouraging others to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and their communities from this illness.

Each day, take professional and personal time to care for yourself. Pause to realize the comfort and good you have provided to so many people.

The Nursing Friends of the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House  thank you and celebrate Nurses Week with you! 

Victoria Brzustowicz

Wreath Hanging Ceremony

National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House Commemorates
Susan B. Anthony’s Death and Legacy

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House will host a ceremonial wreath hanging on the front steps of 17 Madison Street, the National Historic Landmark that was Susan B. Anthony’s home and headquarters, on March 13, 2024 at 11:00 a.m.

The brief ceremony commemorates the 118th anniversary of Susan B. Anthony’s death and will include remarks by Anthony Museum President & CEO, Deborah L. Hughes.

In every election year, we are reminded that Susan B. Anthony is as relevant as she’s ever been, even 118 years after her death. Come join us as we celebrate the life and accomplishments of this remarkable woman who called Rochester her home.

This event is free and open to the public.

Victoria Brzustowicz

The Anthony Museum Announces a Completely Reimagined Susan B. Anthony Birthday Gala for 2021

A Bigger Celebration Reaching a Wider Audience!

Rochester, NY – How do you reimagine one of Rochester’s longest running birthday parties? This year, the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House realized the traditional model for the annual Susan B. Anthony Birthday celebration (1,200 supporters and friends joining together for a program and meal) wasn’t going to be possible or safe, given the pandemic.

In a break with tradition, the Anthony Museum has made plans to safely share Susan B. Anthony’s birthday celebration with their biggest audience ever through a televised broadcast. The “Gala” will be a 1/2 hour program on WROC-TV at 7pm on Wednesday, February 10, and will also be streamed on the internet. An inspiring program is planned that will be memorable and entertaining. As in other years, it will also serve as the major fundraising event for the Anthony Museum.

The keynote speaker will be Susan Zirinsky, acclaimed journalist and groundbreaking producer, now president and senior executive producer of CBS News. Her nickname in the newsroom is “Z.” Like Anthony, she is described as “legendary” and “trailblazing.”

Zirinsky recently received the National Press Club’s highest honor, the Fourth Estate Award. “Susan Zirinsky is the personification of journalistic perseverance, tenacity, and integrity,” Club President Michael Freedman said. “Like the best of those before her at the network of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite, Susan leads by example, displaying the courage of her convictions and making a positive difference—at CBS News and throughout the profession. She is a role model not only for women but for everyone who is dedicated to journalistic ethics and excellence. We are proud to honor her achievements—and that’s the way it is.”

The theme of the 2021 Susan B. Anthony Birthday Gala is A 2 Z, saluting the intersection between Susan B. Anthony as a public relations maven, author, and newspaper editor, and Susan Zirinsky, broadcast media icon. In her biography of Anthony, broadcast journalist and author Lynn Sherr noted: “Acutely aware of the power of the printed word, [Susan B. Anthony] was a one-woman press phenomenon, utilizing every aspect of the media that existed—daily newspapers, monthly magazines, women’s journals—to promote The Cause with impressive skill.”*

These two women understand the power and influence of the press. They never let a glass ceiling limit their work, their ascendance, or their impact as they open the world for others.

Questions related to the 2021 Susan B. Anthony Birthday Gala may be directed to pr@susanb.org. For sponsorship opportunities both before and during the broadcast event, please call 585.249.7490, x 712.

*Lynn Sherr, Failure Is Impossible: Susan B. Anthony in Her Own Words, © 1995, Random House.

Victoria Brzustowicz

The Anthony Museum Reveals the Soon-To-Be-Released Susan B. Anthony Doll

Mattel’s Latest Inspiring Women™ Collectible Doll 

Susan B. Anthony has been spotted in Canada, and there have been sightings on Pinterest and murmurs online, but even fans at her home base at the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in Rochester, New York, have had to squelch rumors that the old girl was soon to arrive on doorsteps across the United States in a new, but familiar form. Today, inside sources at the Anthony Museum revealed the breaking news that Mattel™ is about to induct Susan B. Anthony into their Inspiring Women™ line in the form of a signature Barbie® doll.

The Anthony Museum has been keeping the secret for months. “We were delighted that the design team from Mattel™ reached out to us early in the project, demonstrating their interest in a doll and packaging that would reflect Susan B. Anthony’s life and work, and that would launch in this historically significant year when we celebrate Susan B. Anthony’s 200th birthday, the 19th Amendment, and the Anthony Museum’s 75th anniversary,” says Deborah L. Hughes, president & CEO of the Anthony Museum. 

 “While Barbie may have started as a teenage fashion model in 1959, she has evolved over the decades into a feminist role model, most recently with a 2020 Barbie presidential candidate who is Black and has a diverse campaign staff,” says Michelle Parnett-Dwyer, curator of dolls at The Strong National Museum of Play, home to the National Toy Hall of Fame. “It’s only fitting in this year of celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, that Barbie has now taken on the role of representing Susan B. Anthony.”

Lynn Sherr, journalist and author of Failure is Impossible, says, “Such a useful little likeness of our first suffrage felon!  Add a ‘Failure is Impossible’ button with a ‘Votes for Women’ sash, and the suffragist who once playfully explained her decision not to marry – she didn’t want to be ‘a drudge or a doll’ – is an organizing tool for the next generation. Better yet, give her a ballot!”

Esteemed Susan B. Anthony biographer, Ann Gordon, lends another perspective. “You can almost hear her speak, ‘Yes, your honor, I have many things to say.’  She is still telling us to get ‘a citizen’s right to vote.’”

The Barbie® Signature Susan B. Anthony Inspiring Women™ Doll has already been sighted at the Anthony Museum. The doll officially launches on October 5, but a limited number are currently available through the Anthony Museum online shop at shop.susanb.org.

Questions related to this doll launch may be directed to pr@susanb.org.

Victoria Brzustowicz

The Suffragist City Parade Marches ON

View  this  virtual march celebrating hope, courage, and change!

The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House will host its 4th annual Suffragist City Parade on September 20th, 2020. We are marching with HOPE for the future, celebrating those with COURAGE from the past, and inspiring CHANGE for justice for all today.

The 2020 Suffragist City Parade is a virtual event, broadcast online on September 20, at 6:00 PM EDT. View the Parade here.   (The Anthony Museum will schedule encore presentations, at times to be determined.)

Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass were champions for voting rights and human rights, and they both lived in Rochester, NY, for many years. It is in honor of these two leaders that Rochester claims to be “Suffragist City.” During this historic year, we know there’s been a lot of progress since Anthony and Douglass started agitating for justice. That’s what gives us hope.

The doors to many occupations have opened, so the parade will showcase the people in careers and fields that were not available to most women (and some men) until recently. We want the march to celebrate our achievements and to say thank you to those who courageously stood up on our behalf.

We also know that we’ve still got work to do. We want our parade to be a visible reflection of the people who make up our communities, the changemakers helping us move closer to that vision of being “of the people, by the people, for ALL the people.”

We invited people to participate in the Suffragist City Parade by submitting a video or still image; the response has been overwhelming, with submissions from across the United States.

Please join us Sunday at 6:00 pm, and view the many groups who will march virtually with their messages of Hope, Courage, and Change!

Victoria Brzustowicz

On news of a presidential pardon for Susan B. Anthony on August 18, 2020

Objection! Mr. President, Susan B. Anthony must decline your offer of a pardon today.

Anthony wrote in her diary in 1873 that her trial for voting was “The greatest outrage History ever witnessed.”  She was not allowed to speak as a witness in her own defense, because she was a woman. At the conclusion of arguments, Judge Hunt dismissed the jury and pronounced her guilty.  She was outraged to be denied a trial by jury. She proclaimed, “I shall never pay a dollar of your unjust penalty.” To pay would have been to validate the proceedings. To pardon Susan B. Anthony does the same.

If one wants to honor Susan B. Anthony today, a clear stance against any form of voter suppression would be welcome. Enforcement and expansion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 would be celebrated, we must assure that states respect the 14th, 15th, and 19th Amendments to the United States Constitution. Support for the Equal Rights Amendment would be well received. Advocacy for human rights for all would be splendid. Anthony was also a strong proponent of sex education, fair labor practices, excellent public education, equal pay for equal work, and elimination of all forms of discrimination.

As the National Historic Landmark and Museum that has been interpreting her life and work for seventy-five years, we would be delighted to share more.

Deborah L. Hughes
President & CEO
The National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House