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Welcome! The Women and Religion Movement is alive and well in the 21st Century. A grassroots project started by lay leaders in the 1970s as an effort to promote examination of religious roots of sexism and patriarchy within the UUA and beyond, UU Women and Religion officially began as a task force following the unanimously-passed WOMEN AND RELIGION RESOLUTION at the 1977 UUA General Assembly. Although the Task Force was eventually sunsetted, the movement still exists in UU communities that hold Women & Religion programs and gatherings for those who identify as women. It exists at the UU General Assembly, where UUW&R brings our Store to the Exhibit Hall and occasionally hosts a gathering. And it lives in the hearts and lives of people who have been touched by the many changes inspired by this movement.

"We do not want a piece of the pie. It is still a patriarchal pie. We want to change the recipe!" -- Rosemary Matson

Invitation to Honor Margaret Fuller in NYC

Margaret Fuller in NYC
Restoring Margaret Fuller’s place in history, literature, and memory.

A special project of UUWA and UU Women & Religion Metro District

You are invited to Margaret Fuller’s 200th birthday party and celebrations organized for the Margaret Fuller 2010 Bicentennial and the “Follow the Footsteps of Margaret Fuller” tours in New York City, Boston-Cambridge-Concord, and Rome-Rieti-Florence. These unique, one-of-a-kind events are a special project of UU Women’s Association and UU Women & Religion-Metro District, funded in part by The Fund for Unitarian Universalism. Do not feel guilty if you’ve never heard of Margaret Fuller. Born in 1810, her thoughts are as alive today as over a century ago. A woman of brains and heart, she was labeled genius by some, was ridiculed by others. World famous in the 1840s, she has largely been forgotten in history. She was:

  • First American to write a book about equality for women
  • First American war correspondent / served under combat conditions
  • First woman foreign correspondent
  • First woman journalist on Horace Greeley’s New York Daily Tribune
  • First woman literary critic / set literary standards
  • First editor, The Dial magazine
  • First to organize paid "Conversations" for women (educational "rap sessions")
  • First woman to enter Harvard Library for research purposes - a giant step since colleges were closed to women.

In addition, Margaret Fuller served as director of an Italian hospital that treated the war wounded during the Italian Revolution of 1848-9 – this predates the work of Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton.

Among the major events of the Bicentennial are dramatic stage presentations entitled “A Medley for Margaret Fuller,” “Men, Women, and Margaret Fuller,” and “O Excellent Friend!” with original scripts by Fuller scholar/author/actor Laurie James.  The New York City one-day walking tour “Follow the Footsteps of Margaret Fuller” will feature actors characterized as Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson and his wife, Lidian, Henry David Thoreau, Horace Greeley, Julia Ward Howe, Lydia Maria Child, Edgar Allen Poe, and other friends, and will culminate in a restaurant with skits and songs.

The tour to Italy will highlight sixth generation Roman researcher/writer Mario Bannoni as one of the guides as well as spotlight commemorative plaque presentations, wine tastings, seminars, a visit to Fuller’s lodging in Rome, and even a stay in the Florence hotel where Fuller lived. The Calendar of Events provides details.

Contact: Laurie James, Initiator and Project Director
goldenheritage@nyc.rr.com
www.margaretfuller.info

Donate!

You may make a donation to UU Women and Religion here. We are a 501(c)3 organization. Please select the quantity of $10 increments you would like to donate.

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