Women's History

Item Description

Lucy Burns, A Passionate Rebel For Women's Suffrage 
by Patricia Cuff (Author)

Lucy Burns was the most charismatic member of the early 20th Century suffragists. Blessed with a crown of flaming red hair, a pretty face, and quick wit, she was a constant and persuasive voice of the women’s campaign for equality. She and Alice Paul, young and confident, , stepped into the suffrage battle with bold plans for passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. This adamant dedication to women’s suffrage, and her readiness to shame the powerful, found her spending more time in jail than any suffragist. While imprisoned, she willingly endured the hunger strikes and forced feedings guaranteed to bring a supportive audience to the cause. Lucy Burns spoke truth to power, sometimes silently picketing the White House, and sometimes in print, as the editor of the movement’s weekly newspaper, the Suffragist. Her most enduring legacy was her co-founding of the National Women’s Party, still accepting members today.
Paperback, 101page, pub.2020

Lucy Burns Museum
In 2018, the Workhouse Arts Center completed renovation of a 10,000 square foot barracks building on campus to house the Lucy Burns Museum. The museum is open and in an installation of professional history exhibits telling the story of the 91 years of prison history and the story of the suffragists who were imprisoned here in 1917 for picketing the White House for women’s right to vote.

The Lucy Burns Museum engages visitors in an exploration of the history of the Lorton Correctional facilities that operated for a total of 91 years from 1910-2001. As a site on the National Historic Registry, the Workhouse legacy is rich with stories of our American heritage. Suffragists picketing the White House for women’s right to vote were imprisoned and force-fed. Civil rights activists Noam Chomsky and Norman Mailer were imprisoned after peaceful demonstrations in Washington, DC. Notorious criminals were held at the Workhouse like Watergate mastermind G. Gordon Liddy along with local celebrities like Chuck Brown and Petey Greene. Some of our nation’s most remarkable performers like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and Duke Ellington performed on the site. These stories have been quietly archived and known locally. The Lucy Burns Museum allows those stories and many more to be told across the nation. 

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 Thanks for your support,
The National Women's History Alliance