Patti Wheeler honored Susan B. Anthony’s birthday and other powerful women Tuesday.
Wheeler was one of roughly 150 people to attend the Tri-County Women’s Coalition’s 23rd annual Susan B. Anthony’s Birthday Celebration at the Michigan Athletic Club, 2900 Hannah Blvd.
Anthony was born Feb. 15, 1820. She was involved in temperance movements and demanded that women be given the same civil and political rights that were extended to men. Although Anthony didn’t live to see women receive the right to vote in 1920, many feel her efforts helped to establish the 19th Amendment.
Wheeler, a member of MSU’s Women’s Council, said she came to the event to meet individuals representing a variety of different women’s organizations in the area.
“I want to be a teacher one day and it’s very exciting to see a woman like Sharon Banks be so high up in the field that I want to go into,” said the English and history freshman.
The event featured a speech by E. Sharon Banks, superintendent of the Lansing School District, and a symbolic candle lighting ceremony.
“In 1848, the battle of suffrage was on and what a battle it was.” Banks said to the crowd. “Tonight, we sit on the shoulders of many women and men who fought for our rights.”
Jody Applegate, a member of the National Organization for Women, was one of the few men in attendance. He’s attended the event for three years.
“I usually hear something informational and almost inspirational,” the 29-year-old Lansing resident said. “There aren’t very many men’s organizations that will contribute to a Susan B. Anthony dinner.”
During the program, Gladys Beckwith, president of the Michigan Women’s Studies Association, lit the candle to represent an ongoing struggle to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA focuses on gender-based discrimination.
“This is the time every year that we think back to Susan B. Anthony and women who are working in our community,” Beckwith said before lighting the candle. “It is simply wonderful to see that we have a woman superintendent here.”
Erika Nuerenberg, co-director of the Women’s Council at MSU, said having prominent women in the community is crucial for women who need role models.
“I think having empowering speakers is important for this sort of event,” the communication senior said. “Having women from different cultures and nationalities coming together brings women closer.”
The council will continue the Susan B. Anthony theme when it attempts to unite women through a poetry contest this March.
The contest began last Monday and runs through Feb. 28, to acknowledge International Women’s Day and preview National Women’s History Month in March.
“We’re hoping to get different perspectives on women and get everyone excited and thinking about the month and feeling proud about what we’ve accomplished as women,” Nuerenberg said. “The poetry also is an outlet for women. I expect within the next week we’ll start getting more entries.”
The council will distribute thousands of carnations March 16, with the winning poem attached, when MSU celebrates International Women’s Day on campus.
Submissions can be turned in at the Women's Council's office in 441 Union and at the ASMSU office, MSU’s undergraduate student government, at 333 Student Services.
The poems should be between three and 10 lines and try to capture the essence of a modern, empowered woman, Nuerenberg said.
