Eagle BELVOIR
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August 23, 2018
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Belvoir honors Women’s Equality By Adrienne Anderson Staff writer Fort Belvoir observed Women’s Equality Day Aug. 15, with a program at the Fort Belvoir Community Center. Women’s Equality Day celebrates the passing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, which gave women the right to vote. Guests included poet Rebecca Dupas and Janice C. Greene, a storyteller and author. Greene performed as three historic females: Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Rosa Parks. Detailing their biographies, she discussed their roles in helping to secure women’s rights and voting rights. Truth was born Isabella Baumfree and was a slave in New York. She was the first black woman to win successfully a case against a white man to regain custody of her children. Her children had been illegally traded despite the passing of the New York Anti-Slavery Law. She spent time as an abolitionist and suffragette. Po r t r a y i n g T r u t h , G r e e n e detailed Truth’s attempt to vote in the 1872 presidential election. “Susan B. Anthony said we
Photo by Paul Lara
Janice Greene portrays Rosa Parks during Women’s Equality Day celebrations in the Community Center, Aug. 15. should all go out there and try to vote,” Greene said. “So I went to a polling place and pretended to be ... lost and confused like I didn’t know
where I was.” However, Truth was barred from doing so. “It wasn’t until 37 years after the
death of Sojourner that the 19th Amendment was ratified to give women the right to vote,” Greene said. As Tubman, Greene discussed Tubman’s journey to freedom. Sick of living within the confines of slavery, Tubman escaped, but still had more work to do, as her family was still trapped. “There were two things that I knew I had a right to—liberty or death,” Greene said as Tubman. “If I couldn’t have one, I was going to have the other. No man was going to take me alive. I would fight for my freedom with my last breath, and it was time for me to go, only the good Lord could take me, and I run, and I run.” With the help of Quakers, Tubman was able to escape. However, the paths to help others escape were harrowing, as laws were frequently passed making it tougher for slaves to runaway. “Soon as (you) took one step forward, they’d pass a law to drag you five steps back,” she said. Tubman’s heroism didn’t end with helping others escape; she also led a raid during the Civil
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A sense of community – Springfield BridgeWalk Tuesday By Public Affairs Springfield’s annual BridgeWalk is Tuesday and Jeff McKay, from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ Lee District, has invited everyone. The family-friendly event starts
at 7 p.m., at the corner of Amherst Avenue and Bland Street in Springfield. At 7:30 p.m., police will close the road and the group will stroll across Veterans Bridge to American Legion Post 176. At the Legion, there will be a brief ceremony and com-
munity covenant signing with Fort Belvoir officials, followed by community time and food with friends and neighbors. McKay represents the county’s Lee District, which includes Springfield and Franconia.
This is the 17th annual event, honoring the local military, that Springfield and the American Legion have hosted since 9/11. Weather permitting, the celebration is entirely outside, so leashed dogs are welcome.
Save the dates! All these events are open to everyone. Luau at O Club
Friday, 6-9 p.m. Polynesian dancers, 7:30 p.m. Call for pricing, pre-paid RSVP O Club, 703-780-0930, ext. 600
Springfield BridgeWalk
Tuesday, 7 p.m. Amherst Avenue and Bland Street Stroll across Veterans Bridge to American Legion Post 176
Suicide prevention speaker Ca-Asia Lane Retired MP Corps officer Sept. 6, 10 a.m., Thurman Auditorium 703-805-5529
Grab 3 friends!
4-person Resilience Team Challenge Sept. 14, Graves Fitness Center 1600m relay, 22 push-ups, obstacle course Millie Frank, 703-805-5529