In 1893, women gathered at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago to talk about health, suffrage, gender discrimination, workplace issues and the problems of minority women. One hundred years later, because many of these issues remain relevant, women will discuss them again
Saturday at “Women’s Agendas: 1893 and 1993,” part of the Chicago Cultural Center’s year-long celebration of the anniversary of the World’s Fair.
Last century’s exposition “was the first time in history that women were given governmental recognition and autonomy, encouraged to form their own congresses and pursue their own agendas,” says Lois Weisberg, commissioner of cultural affairs for the city of Chicago. “It was the birth of a great women’s movement, because women were given a big role in the world of ideas. Bertha Palmer, the head of the women’s congress said at that time: `Even more important than the discovery of Columbus, which we are here to celebrate, is the fact that the general government has just discovered women.”‘
Workshops at Saturday’s session will be held on violence, poverty, careers, health, politics, power, law, women’s culture and history and overcoming barriers of race, ethnicity, age, class and education. A panel discussion on “Women and the Press” at 9:55 a.m. features journalists Georgie Anne Geyer, a syndicated columist and author, Gabriela Bustamante, the editor of the weekly Spanish-language newspaper La Raza, and Ellen Soeteber, deputy editorial page editor at the Chicago Tribune, discussing women as editors, reporters and Washington correspondents, as well as the ethics of journalism.
Weisberg considers the symposium a critical lesson in history: “People really change when they understand the history of their communities. These women left us an unbelievably powerful legacy in Chicago. In a sense, we have fulfilled that legacy.
All events are free and take place at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St., Chicago, Ill. For a complete schedule, call 312-744-6630.
