by Loretta Seppanen, LWV Thurston County
This year, members of the LWV Thurston County hosted a session at the LWVWA Council. The session centered around a recording of a reader's theater performance of LWV Thurston's Untold Story Project and a facilitated discussion about the performance and the project's focus.
The Thurston League created the script for the Untold Story Project performance from the speech and commentary in the book The Untold Story of Women of Color in the League of Women Voters by Dr. Carolyn Jefferson-Jenkins—who served as the 15th President of LWVUS and Chair of the LWVUS Education Fund. The Untold Story Project brought to the stage the history of the League of Women Voters' systematic disregard for concerns of women of color.
The performance featured a narrator and a reader who weaved together six decades of US history with the words from Jefferson-Jenkins' book. Additional performers added the voices of Black and White women activists—including, suffrage campaigners Josephine St. Pierrer Ruffin and Belle Kearney; past League presidents Percy Maxim Lee and Ruth Philips; and contemporary Black activists Gloria Marquez and Marian Wright Edleman. The perspective of women of color in the League by mid-20th century media was presented by a male reader who joined the eight women performing on stage.
After the presentation of the Untold Story Project performance at the 2024 LWVWA Council, a thoughtful and forward-looking discussion was had. Some of the White participants expressed chagrin at the portions of League history covered in the project, and some of the participants of color share their uncertainties about the benefits of participation in the League. All of the participants affirmed the value of talking openly about the League's history. As one participant said, "We cannot undo the past. And if we do not study and acknowledge that past, we are destined to repeat it."
Participants also shared ways local Leagues had successfully connected with people of color, or how they could better connect with them, while recognizing a common commitment to civic education and voter participation. A prevalent theme was that local Leagues can weave their own activities with the work of local groups already representing communities of color. This collaboration strengthens the actions of the League as well as other groups. Local Latino coalitions, various Asian and Pacific Islander organizations, organizations for immigrants, tribal nations, and the Urban League and NAACP Chapters were some of the groups brought up who are actively doing work in the same areas as the League.
The Untold Story Project began a year ago, as members of LWV Thurston's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Committee began to envision the project. Their work started by shaping a 20-minute script from Jefferson-Jenkins' book. The group also recognized that, while the Thurston League does have members of color, we needed to reach outside of our membership to really put the voice and vision of women of color at the front and center of this project. I feel privileged to have worked with sixteen other community members on this project—which includes the cast, the script writing group, and those who worked behind the scenes. The team included ten people of color, a majority of those involved with the project.
As a White woman, I volunteered to read one of the script's three White speakers. The other cast members were Michelle Gipson (our narrator), Kyrian MacMichael (our reader), Tanya Smith-Brice, Annie Cubberly, Charles Holloway, Brenda Paull, Sholanda Akins, and Jan Holloway. We especially appreciated Dawn Young's stage directing (Standing Room Only Theater in Yelm) and Lisa Sandall's visuals reflecting the League's history. LWV Thurston Board Member Nicole Miller facilitated the discussion at the live reader's theater production in February and at the Council session. I also appreciate the increased connection I feel to the diverse community where I live because of the opportunity to participate in this League activity.
