Click on a photograph to view a larger image.
EXHIBITION THEMES
Art & Literature
Philanthropy & Public Service
Education & Reform
Profiles in Courage
View the Exhibition's Promotion Card
A multi-media exhibition with paintings, historic photographs, decorative arts, textiles, artifacts, interactive stations, videos, slideshows, historical settings, archival materials and books, computer stations,a diorama,signs, posters, and many ephemora.
This exhibition illustrates the role of women in American life, as portrayed in the histories of 16 remarkable Allston-Brighton women and women�s organization, histories that collectively span some 250 years.
These individuals and organizations reflect, in the narrow compass of Allston-Brighton history, the wider struggle that women have waged over the years against gender discrimination and inequality upon a broad range of economic, social, cultural, governmental, and religious battlegrounds. These courageous struggles, which have helped secure a high degree of gender equality in American society, deserve to be celebrated.
During most of the 18th and 19th century, women in small communities like Allston-Brighton were relegated to the sphere of wife and mother exclusively. The world of business and civic affairs was closed to them. As the 19th century wore on, a few brave women began to play a broader role in American society, taking on functions previously reserved for men.
As these barriers slowly gave way, women began to work outside the home in increasing numbers. The collapse of many economic and professional barriers allowed them to make independent decisions on how to live their lives. A major impediment fell in 1920 when, after decades of protest, women were finally granted the right to vote in all elections.
While this exhibition recognizes the considerable progress that �Women of Vision� have made over two and a half centuries, the goal of full gender equality has yet to be realized.
