The Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice in Mount Laurel will host its fifth annual Women’s Equality Day Festival on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 1 p.m. Presented in partnership with the Perkins Center for the Arts and others, the festival at Historic Paulsdale, the childhood home of suffragist and feminist leader Paul, will feature craft vendors, live music, food trucks, kids activities, info sessions and a beer garden.
“Alice was tenacious,” said Rachael Glashan Rupisan, the center’s executive director. “She never gave up for gender equality. It’s what she believed in and it’s what she dedicated her life to. As many suffragists backed away from the women’s movement after the 19th amendment was passed, Alice (knew) that there was still a lot of work to be done … Up until she passed away (Paul passed away in Moorestown at Greenleaf Retirement Community, formerly known as Greenleaf Extension Home), she was advocating for gender justice.”
As executive director, Rupisan oversees the facility’s programming and its operations, as well as making sure that her team has the resources they need. Before she came on board in 2019, she fell in love with the center’s mission, which is to build contemporary action and intergenerational movement for gender justice through the lens of history and of place. Through her predecessor Lucy Beard she was also inspired to get more involved and active in the women’s movement. What does the center’s overall mission mean? It uses history to inspire people to take action for themselves and their communities, Rupisan explained.
Born on January 11, 1885, to Quaker parents in Mount Laurel, Paul was a leader in the fight to ratify the 19th Amendment in 1920 to extend voting rights to women. She authored the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923 and spent the rest of her life fighting for its ratification to ensure the U.S. Constitution protects women and men equally. Paulsdale spans at six-acres and is a National Historic Landmark, one of only 3.8% of all National Historic Landmarks in the United Statesdedicated to the life or work of a woman, according to the center’s website. Once a working farm, Paulsdale is fully open to the public and serves as the headquarters of the Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice. The center’s designation signaled a critical acknowledgment that women’s history is American history, deserving of the same visibility, protection and permanence as the narratives traditionally centered in our national memory. While the center offers a lot for visitors to see and learn about, Rupisan hopes people leave with a sense of community.
“There are people out there who care about our world and our communities and are working hard to make sure that we move forward,” she said. “We really focus on women’s history because Alice Paul grew up right here in Mount Laurel, New Jersey … (Paulsdale) is one of only 3.8% of all National Historic Landmarks in the entire country dedicated to the work of a woman, so we take that stewardship very seriously.”
A highlight for the Women’s Equality Day Festival includes a panel titled “Mothers and Daughters: Voices of Resilient Immigrant Women Across Generations.” Presented in partnership with New Jersey Folklife at Perkins Center for the Arts, theintergenerational panel will bring together immigrant mothers and daughters from local communities to share their powerful stories of migration and resilience, while reflecting on how they maintain traditional cultural heritage. For festival updates or more information, visit the center’s website or its social media.
The Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice’s fifth annual Women’s Equality Day Festival will feature craft vendors, live music, food trucks, kids activities, info sessions and a beer garden at Paul’s childhood home on Saturday, Aug. 22.
