On Thursday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m., the Belfast Free Library will offer a presentation commemorating an aspect of Maine’s history, the fight for woman suffrage with author Anne B. Gass. The talk, made possible by a grant from the Maine Humanities Council’s World in your Library Speaker Series, will be offered as a virtual program via Zoom.

This talk is based on the book Voting Down the Rose: Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine's Fight for Woman Suffrage, about the author's great-grandmother. Florence was a novelist, painter, vocalist, and mother of three sons when she first joined the suffrage movement in 1914.

Gass will explore Florence’s life up to 1914 and her leadership in moving suffrage forward in Maine, joining forces with national leader Alice Paul in a desperate, last-ditch effort to ensure that the legislature ratified the 19th Amendment that would give women voting rights.

Slides of historic photos accompany this lively talk, which lasts about 40 minutes. Q & A to follow.

Anne B. Gass is the author of Voting Down the Rose: Florence Brooks Whitehouse and Maine’s Fight for Woman Suffrage, published in 2014. Gass, who is Whitehouse’s great-granddaughter, speaks regularly on Florence Brooks Whitehouse and women’s rights. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Maine Suffrage Centennial Collaborative, which raises awareness of the Centennial and encourages activities. She also serves on Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women and as the Maine Coordinator for the National Votes for Women Trail, a project of the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites.

To register for this program, visit belfastlibrary.org/events or email bharrington@belfastlibrary.org.