Documentary Presents Stories That Led to Social Revolution in the United States

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Publicity shot from the documentary "Makers: Women Who Make America"

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society in Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock will co-host a free screening of the PBS documentary project Makers: Women Who Make America at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 14, in the Arkansas Union Theatre. Sara Evans, one of the project's advisors, will lead a discussion after the viewing, and reception will follow the program.

According to the Makers website, the film "tells the remarkable story of the most sweeping social revolution in American history, as women have asserted their rights to a full and fair share of political power, economic opportunity, and personal autonomy. It's a revolution that has unfolded in public and private, in courts and Congress, in the boardroom and the bedroom, changing not only what the world expects from women, but what women expect from themselves."

The film features interviews with more than 200 groundbreakers and organizers who challenged the status quo. Participants include Christiane Amanpour, Judy Blume, Erin Brockovitch, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mia Hamm, Mazie Hirono, Lisa Leslie, Rachel McLish, Nichelle Nichols, Danica Patrick, Condoleezza Rice, Muriel Siebert, Gloria Steinem, Shirley Tilghman, Ruth Westheimer, Meg Whitman and many others from various backgrounds and industries such as the arts, business, education, politics, science, technology and sports.

The screening is part of the fifth symposium in the Blair Legacy Series, "'18 million cracks': The Legacy of 2nd Wave Feminism in American Politics."

The two-day meeting will include respected scholars from around the country who will examine the role and impact of female leaders in the era of 2nd wave feminism with its roots beginning in the 1960s. The invited participants will work in small groups throughout the conference to produce a manuscript examining second-wave feminism and its ongoing influence on contemporary politics in the United States.

National participants in the 2013 Diane Blair Legacy Series include Christina Bejarano, associate professor of political science, University of Kansas; Susan Carroll, professor of political science and gender studies, Rutgers University; Cecelia Conrad, director, MacArthur Fellows Program; Sara Evans, McKnight Distinguished University Professor of History, University of Minnesota; Stephanie Gilmore, activist, educator and writer, Philadelphia, Penn.; Valerie Martinez-Ebers, professor of political science, University of North Texas; Catherine Rymph, associate professor of history, University of Missouri; Wendy Smooth, associate professor of women's studies and political science, the Ohio State University; and Marjorie Spruill, professor of history, University of South Carolina.

For more information about the film screening or the Blair Legacy Series, please see the Blair Center website.

About the Partners:

The Diane D. Blair Center of Southern Politics and Society was established in 2001 by an act of U.S. Congress. This research center was named in honor of Diane Divers Blair who taught in the political science department of the University of Arkansas for 30 years. The Blair Center reflects her academic model and strives to approach the study of the American South from a variety of angles, attempting to reveal the undercurrents of politics, history and culture that have shaped the region.

The nation's seventh presidential school, the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service is the first school in the nation to offer a Master of Public Service (M.P.S.) degree, giving students the knowledge and experience to further their careers in the areas of nonprofit, governmental, volunteer or private sector service. Additionally, the mission of the Clinton School's Center on Community Philanthropy, directed by Charlotte Williams, is to promote issues and research into community-based philanthropy and its role in generating social, economic and political change.