Geneva, N.Y.: The Geneva Historical Society's second program of the 2021 virtual Spring Lecture Series will be “Nina Allender: Suffrage Cartoonist,” on Wednesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. Journalist and author Ronny Frischman will tell the story of this little known player in the women's suffrage campaign.
Few people know of Allender, but they should. One of only a handful of female political cartoonists in the early twentieth century, she played a vital role in the women's suffrage movement. Allender was recruited by the activist Alice Paul to be the “official cartoonist” of The Suffragist, the weekly newspaper of the National Woman's Party. Her suffragist, known as “the Allender girl,” was viewed as the period's ideal of the modern female agitator. Allender's cartoons captured national attention and influenced public opinion, leading in turn to passage of the 19th Amendment granting full voting rights to women.
Ronny Frishman received her BA from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. She spent more than 30 years writing for newspapers, magazines and other media, including The Finger Lakes Times and the Gannett Rochester Newspapers. She also taught journalism at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. More recently, she has undertaken a new challenge – sharing her storytelling with children and writing books for young readers. Her non-fiction middle-grade book, Nina Allender, Suffrage Cartoonist: With a Drawing Pencil She Helped Win the Vote for Women, was released last September.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the lecture will be presented virtually through Zoom, and advance registration is required. A device, internet connection, and email address are necessary to participate. To register, participants should visit the program event page on the Geneva Historical Society website event calendar. The necessary login information will be sent to registrants via email 24 hours prior to the program. For any problems with registration or to register by phone, call the Geneva Historical Society office at 315-789-5151. Registrations must be complete before 12:00 noon, April 14, the day of the program.
The Lecture Series is supported in part by the Samuel B. Williams fund for programs in the Humanities and is free and open to the public. For more information about the program, call the Geneva Historical Society office at 315-789-5151 or visit genevahistoricalsociety.com.
