Red, Wite and Roux

            I created my own teachable moment last week, and my English students learned a bit of history. November 16 marked the anniversary of the "Night of Terror" in 1917 when 33 suffragists were arrested and imprisoned for picketing the White House.

            Their signs read: "President Wilson, How long do you advise us to wait?" "Wilson is against women," and "Vote against Wilson, he opposes national woman suffrage." The charge was "obstructing sidewalk traffic."

            The men in charge took great umbrage at these uppity women and responded with brutality. The warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia gave 40 prison guards permission to beat the ladies with clubs. Lucy Burns was chained with her hands above her head and left there overnight. When Alice Paul went on a hunger strike, they forced a tube down her throat.

            The women continued the fight and finally gained the vote in 1920.

            I was reminded of this dark spot in history when I received a pre-election email from my good friend, Barbara Holmes. I saved it so I could show the computer slide show to my students last Friday.

            I know I teach English, and that I was supposed to focus on the Sunshine State Standard of the week, but I thought this anniversary was too important to pass up.

            My kids were aghast. Not a single one of them, not even the seniors, had any idea of the struggle and sacrifice it took for women to be treated as citizens. When I began the presentation, there was a bit of chatter. Soon, the classroom became dead quiet. I rocked their complacent world and enjoyed every minute of it. Perhaps a few of the intellectually curious will do a little more research on their own. I hope so.

            I look at President-elect Obama, surrounded and influenced by strong women - his mother, his grandmother, and his wife. He grew up in female households and lives in one today. I doubt that it would ever occur to him that women are less capable than men. It may have taken 88 years, but, thankfully, this is where we are now.

            Much change has occurred even in my own lifetime. In the Fifties and Sixties most professional women were either teachers or secretaries. In fact, I believe one of reasons for the decline in education is that when opportunities for smart women opened up, fewer and fewer became teachers. Once they could enter the professional and corporate world, the classroom no longer beckoned.

            When I was in high school, there were no team sports for girls. Now they have volleyball, basketball, and soft ball. Girls were required to take home economics; boys took shop. No questions asked.

            When I went to Auburn University in 1970, all women were required to live on campus, none of the men were. After a year, I transferred to Florida State University with its open dormitory policy.

            I would argue that the female struggle for equal rights is as important in history and as transforming as the date of any war or peace treaty.

            So, why did I have to teach it in English class?

            Denise Roux is a regular columnist for the Apalachicola and Carrabelle Times. To reach her, email her at rouxwhit@mchsi.com