Dramatic reading discusses the struggles of women in the industrial era
By: Omsalama Ayoub
Staff Writer
The Bulmer Telecommunications Center auditorium hosted a dramatic reading of, “Before They Were Our Mothers: Voices of Women Born Before Rosie Started Riveting.”
The anthology was written by the contribution of 15 authors was made possible by an Artist Grant funded by the New York State Council on the Arts.
The stories centered around the struggles of women dealing with poverty, immigration and Feminism. It begged its audience to remember why the rights of women are essential human rights and brought to life the stories of generations long forgotten.
For effect, the reading had an antagonist and eight protagonists to give the opposing side a voice. Wearing a camouflage cap, the antagonist a middle-aged Caucasian man, shot up out of his seat occasionally in response to the issues presented in the stories.
The characters in the story were awe inspiring for using their voices despite being repeatedly getting knocked down and rejected.
In 1932 Maria Pierpaoli lived with her family in a flat owned by a church and was instantly kicked out when she and her brother were cited stealing rotten peaches. Nevertheless she confessed to the Father when he came to oust her family and asked for forgiveness. The priest kicked them out anyway because of the prejudice he had towards Italian immigrants.
Aldy Van Meir Hood was another character, lived in 1931. Aldy lived near the train tracks in Western N.Y.. Homeless young men who lacked food, clothes and shelter would often seep into town and look for help. Aldy’s family became a safe haven for the “hobos” who were hated by the people in their town. The mayor would eventually yell at Aldy for being too kind to the Hobos.
“I liked the fact that she [Aldy] was facing adversity in a situation that was obviously misplaced. She is obviously doing what is right and she is facing so much adversity for her actions, yet was still standing up for what is right,” said James Dobler an engineering science student.
At the end if the reading “2018 Woman” brought up the cruel separation of children from their families on our southern borders as well as the anxiety surrounding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
The reading of “Before They Were Our Mothers: Voices of Women Born Before Rosie Started Riveting” contrasted past sins of hate and prejudice against foreign threats to the ideal of “Americanism” to the present tense of hate that the current American political culture wrestles with today.