DNR
Home Page"WHERE ARE THE WOMEN" LECTURE AND PERFORMANCE SERIES
TO BE HELD AT SCOTT JOPLIN HOUSE STATE HISTORIC SITE
JEFFERSON CITY, MO., SEPT. 12, 2007 -- "Where are the Women? Discovering the Cultural Contributions of Women during Scott Joplin's Era" is a look at women's roles in music, art and society. A series of lectures and performances will be held at Scott Joplin House State Historic Site in St. Louis and is designed to introduce women who shaped ragtime and other African-American music forms as well as showcase women in everyday turn-of-the-19th century Missouri life. Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Regional Arts Commission, these events are free and open to the public.
Often times, women are left out of the stories told by historians. This is especially true about roles of African-American women in the St. Louis stories. This multi-disciplinary project includes an exhibit, musical performances, book signing, a lecture series and cemetery bus and lecture tour. The series, which combines music, written and oral history, live performances and scholarly presentations, is supported in part by a Regional Arts Commission grant. Following is a list of events taking place as part of this series:
- Sept. 23, 2007-- "Writing Freddie and Madame C.J. Walker: Filling in the Holes for Historical Fiction when the History Is Missing" -- Renowned fiction author Tannanarive Due tells how she uses limited historical information to write women's characters in her award-winning novels, "Joplin's Ghost" and "The Black Rose: The Dramatic Story of Madam C.J. Walker, America's First Black Female Millionaire." Due will be signing copies of both novels and copies of her new novel, "Casanegra: A Tennyson Hardwick Novel." The program begins at 1 p.m.
- Sept. 30, 2007-- "Archaeology and Prostitution: Filling the Gaps of Women's History" -- Valerie Altizer, Missouri Valley College in Marshall, will speak at 2 p.m. on cultural archaeology and its contribution to the studies on prostitution and boarding houses in Kansas City, Washington, D.C., and St. Louis. There will be a performance from Lynn Nottage's work "Intimate Apparel."
- Oct. 21, 2007 -- "Where Are the Women Buried?" -- Visit the graves of St. Louis women while hearing stories of their lives and their contributions to the St. Louis cultural landscape from Vicky Love, site administrator at Scott Joplin House State Historic Site. Greenwood, Cavalry and Bellefontaine cemeteries will be highlighted beginning at 10 a.m.
- Nov. 4, 2007 -- "Give the Ballot to the Mothers: How Suffrage was Won in the U.S.A. as Revealed through Song" -- Author Francie Wolff's lively program unfolds the historical drama of how American women won the vote. The program will begin at 2 p.m.
- Feb. 16, 2008 -- "Rosebud Ball" -- From 7 to 10 p.m., Nora and Mark Hulse will have visitors dancing and tapping their toes to ragtime music in the New Rosebud Café. Nora, a professor of keyboard studies at Central Methodist College in Fayette, will perform with her husband Mark, who plays the banjo.
- Feb. 17, 2008 -- "Women in Ragtime" - Nora Hulse, also a historian, has identified dozens of women who composed ragtime music. She will tell the history and perform the music of these women, who played ragtime despite its immoral connotations, resistance from male counterparts and other social limitations. The program will begin at 2 p.m.
- March 15, 2008 -- "Sue Keller Live" -- Enjoy a free concert of ragtime music by Sue Keller at 7 p.m. in the New Rosebud Café. Keller is recognized as one of the world's top female ragtime pianists. She will treat visitors to a piano and vocal performance as she has done for audiences throughout the world.
- March 16, 2008 -- Beginning at 2 p.m., Sue Keller will explore women and their role in the development of the blues.
- March 30, 2008 "St. Louis Black Women's Social Organizations-1890-1910" -- Karla Frye, Ph.D., Missouri Department of Natural Resources, will explore the power that the black women's social organizations yielded in directing the moral and cultural St. Louis conscience. Thomasina Clark will perform songs from the era. The program will begin at 2 p.m.
- April 17 to June 22, 2008 -- Traveling Exhibit: "Morning to Night: Domestic Service in the Gilded Age South" -- This exhibit, from the Maymount Foundation, tells the story of a predominantly African-American labor corps -- barely a generation removed from slavery -- that worked primarily in white households as cooks, maids, laundresses, nursemaids, butlers and chauffeurs. An exhibit opening and reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. April 20.
- April 28, 2008 -- "Spirituals to Symphonies: African-American Women Composers and Their Music" -- At 2 p.m., Helen Walker-Hill will explore and perform music from African-American women composers in the United States. A piano scholar, Walker-Hill will present an accessible, thoughtful and humanist study of African- American women composers who, for the most part, have been ignored by historians. The audience will be introduced to Undine Smith Moore (1904-89), Julia Perry (1924-79), Margaret Bonds (1913-72) and Irene Britton Smith (1907-99), as well as the 20th-century social setting in which they worked.
- May 4, 2008 -- "Women in Jazz" -- Musical artist Madra Thomas will explore the role of St. Louis' African-American female performers in the burgeoning jazz culture through lecture, storytelling and song. Reggie Thomas, also a performer, will accompany Madra. The program will begin at 2 p.m.
- May 29, 2008 -- "Ragtime Rally" -- A variety of ragtime musicians will highlight music by women composers as well as their traditional male counterparts. Educational programs, a silent auction, historic cars, a mechanical music display and more will be featured at the event from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information about these events, contact the historic site directly at 314-340-5790 or the Missouri Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) For more information about Missouri state parks and historic sites, visit the Web at www.mostateparks.com.
