Archived Radio Show

August 29, 2022

Original Radio Show  ID:
WSA220829

Listen to the Show on the Mp3 Player below

Duration 57 minutes

This show was uploaded to the Elaine B. Holtz YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/L1X8g6KLbvI 

---

Featuring

Click the Name to access the Segment below

1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz,  Host of Women's Spaces

2. Rosita Stevens-Holsey , Author, educator

----

----   

1. Commentary by Elaine B. Holtz:  I am so excited, joining me on the phone is Rosita Stevens-Holsey, a dynamic educator, writer, activist and niece of Attorney, Civil/Women’s Rights Activists, poet, the first woman ordained as an Episcopal priest,  and one of the co-founders of the National Organization for Women (NOW), Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray. We will be talking about her Aunt Pauli, who contributed so much during the civil rights and women’s movement.

I am dedicating this show to Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray and all women of color. This month we celebrated 102 years since the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the USA which gave women the right to vote. Please note: Not all suffragists were white middle-class women. Five prominent Black women Who Fought for the 19th Amendment. These women had the double challenge of fighting both gender and racial stereotypes.

1 Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825–1911)
2 Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823–1893)
3 Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)
4 Nannie Helen Burroughs (1879–1961)
5 Ida B. Wells (1862–1931)

It was not until The Civil Rights Act of 1964 a landmark civil rights and labor law in the United States that outlaws’ discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin that all Black women were able to vote. 

---- 

2. Our guest Rosita Stevens-Holsey shares intimate details of her aunt, Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray (1910 - 1985) (her photo is to the right), whose life intersected with her for 43 years. When Rosita was just 13 years old, she asked Aunt Pauli to meet her good friend Eleanor Roosevelt, and that wish was granted with a visit to the White House. Rosita talks about the qualities of her aunt that impressed her, the challenges of attending Howard University and being the only woman in the class enduring the bias toward women, despite being the top in the class. Finally in her senior year Pauli was granted the honors of being top student, but still was hindered from being accepted at Harvard Law School, which was common for the top student at Howard.  Pauli Murray would become an influential legal scholar with pioneering opinions used by Thurgood Marshall in the NAACP lawsuit Brown v. Board of Education that overturned Plessy v. Fergusson decision of "Separate but Equal", and that eventually led to integration of the schools. Pauli was credited with her opinions that helped Ruth Bader-Ginsburg in the landmark Reed v. Reed decision that forbid discrimination according to gender. Rosita talks of her research in the Harvard archives of Pauli Murray, which consisted of hundreds of boxes of her writings and journals produced with what Pauli called "provocation by typewriter." Rosita says her Aunt Pauli rarely talked about herself, but the archives are revealing.  Take a listen, as this show is packed with insights of Pauli Murray.

About our Guest: Rosita Stevens-Holsey is a dynamic educator, writer, activist, and community engager focused on sharing stories of historical and pioneering voices for children and adults to be inspired by. In the spirit of enhancing the legacy of her aunt, Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, Rosita has co-authored with Terry Catasús Jennings, a biography entitled “Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist & Civil Rights Activist.” She holds a B.S. in Science and Education from State University of New York and a Master’s in Counseling and Human Services from Boston University. Rosita is president and founder of Preserving Pauli Murray, LLC, and is a proud board member of the National Women’s History Alliance of Santa Rosa, CA, and the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham, NC.

Guest Link: 

Book: Pauli Murray - The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist by Terry Catasús Jennings and Rosita Stevens-Holsey. Click Here for publisher's website

Preserving Pauli Murray LLC.  mission is to increase awareness of inspiring black history by sharing the powerful legacy of Pauli Murray, website:  www.preservingpaulimurray.com

Preserving Pauli Murray fb page: https://www.facebook.com/Preserving-Pauli-Murray-110091611510279

Rosita Stevens-Holsey email:  preservingpaulimurray (at) gmail.com

Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice on who Pauli Murray is: https://www.paulimurraycenter.com/who-is-pauli

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Shares How Legal Pioneer Pauli Murray Shaped Her Work on Sex Discrimination : https://time.com/5896410/ruth-bader-ginsburg-pauli-murray/

Reference Link:

Rosita Stevens-Holsey returns for Part Two on March 20, 2023 during Women's History Month 

----

 Herstory

Our history is our strength. Check out important dates to remember in herstory at the National Women's History Alliance

Herstory Events:

August 28, 1963 – More than 250,000 gather for a march on Washington, DC, and listen to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech
One of my favorite quotes from that speech which is also my dream. “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Herstory Birthdays:

August 30, 1907 (1992) – Luisa Moreno, labor leader and Mexican American civil rights activist, emigrated from Guatemala, helped organize “El Congreso del Pueblo de Habla Espanola” (Spanish-Speaking People’s Congress) in 1938, worked for the United Cannery, Agricultural, Packing, and Allied Workers of America (UCAPAWA).

----  

Announcements  

August 2022: This month's Sonoma County Gazette is on the streets. Make sure you read the Radioland section, Women’s Spaces is featured: Focus of Women in Leadership. Download the pdf of the article  --> 

----

Monday,September 5, 11am # repeats 11pm, the show will be featuring guests Eva Granaham on Apple-y Ever After Fundraiser for the Arlene Francis Center and  Major (Ret.) Renee Marie on Peace Poles for Schools. Radio KBBF 89.1 FM, North SF Bay or live streaming at https://kbbf.org/live

---- 

  Wednesday September 7, 11am, repeat of Monday's show, will will be featuring guest Eva Granaham on Apple-y Ever After Fundraiser for the Arlene Francis Center and  Major (Ret.) Renee Marie on Peace Poles for Schools. Radio KPCA 103.3 FM, Petaluma, CA. https://petalumacommunityaccess.org/kpca 

----

Saturday, September 3, 2022. 10 AM to 5 PM. Celebration for Jackie Elward, La Plaza Park, Cotati, Hosted by Community Equity Foundation, Safe Harbor, and the City of Rohnert Park. Live Music, Food, Dancing, Zumba, African Market. For more information: 707-843-2125or email: communityequityfoundationsoco (at) gmail.com

----

Through End of September 2022,  Sue Kearney: Fluid Art — Flow and Fascination, Cafe Frida Gallery, 300 S A St, Santa Rosa. About Sue: https://suekearney.com/ Sue's show continues through end of September. Meet the Artist, each Wednesday 10:30–noon. Feel free to tell your friends, and to come by again for a sit and a cuppa.

Music Selections

The Opening and Closing Theme song The Woman in Your Life is You is done with permission of the Composer and Singer Alix Dobkin ((August 16, 1940 – May 19, 2021) Alix Dobkin death was just announced - Thank you for all you did for Lesbians to be recognized and Women to be honored. May you rest in peace. See our Interview with Alix Dobkin on 12/1/2014 and our Memorial to Alix Dobkin on 5/24/2021

The Woman in Your Life is You by Alix Dobkin from the album Living with Lavender Jane (2010 Women's Wax Works) - www.alixdobkin.com

Dark Testament, sung by Rashad and Courtney Reid Eatonn from the album A Conversation with Pauli Murray (2011 Easley Branch LLC). Based on poem by Pauli Murray.

Impossible Dream, sung by Julie Rogersl from the album Beautiful Dreams (2011 Fantastic Journey)

----

For music purchasing opportunity, supporting the artists: 

Link:  Spinitron.com Playlist for Women's Spaces Show