We had a grand celebration of Margaret Fuller’s 200^th birthday on May 23, 2010. Many congregations and women’s groups celebrated that Sunday or at another time with a special service, conference or other program, and/or by hosting the traveling display, “Why Margaret Fuller Matters.” And we’re looking forward to continuing the celebration through the remainder of the year.

There’s still time for you to be part of this great celebration. Check out www.margaretfuller.org for resources and for upcoming events. You can also make a donation online, if you feel so inspired.

Consider bringing the traveling display to your area. “Why Margaret Fuller Matters” is a series of 10 colorful 24-inch x 18-inch foam core panels with text and images designed to answer the fundamental question of why this great nineteenth-century figure remains important two centuries after her birth. The display introduces audiences to Margaret Fuller’s life, her ideas, her writings, and her vision of a just world.

Just in case you are still not sure who Margaret Fuller was, here’s a very brief statement of why you might want to join in this celebration of her bicentennial. Margaret Fuller was a writer, activist, and futurist who changed the way people viewed the world. One of the guiding lights of the first wave of feminism, she helped educate the women of her day by leading a series of Conversations in which women were empowered to read, think, and discuss important issues. She inspired generations to follow (including those who called the 1848 first women’s rights meeting at Seneca Falls) through her ground-breaking writings, especially her landmark book, Woman in the Nineteenth Century. Her dispatches from England and Italy, where she supported the Italian Revolution of 1848, mark her as an early trans-nationalist and a role model for today’s global society.

Many thanks are due to UU Women & Religion for generously serving as fiscal agent for the two grants we have received from the Fund for Unitarian Universalism. Additional funding has been received from the UU Historical Society, Mass Humanities, and numerous individual donors. Without financial support we could not do this work.  We know Margaret, who struggled financially during her life, would be pleased with the support being given to this Bicentennial effort.

Most of all, though, we hope you will join the celebration—and let us know what you are doing to bring Margaret Fuller to life in your community. If you don’t have an internet connect, you may contact Dorothy Emerson at 339-206-0829.