The League of Women Voters of Chicago, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, and the Union League Club of Chicago welcome former Ambassador and United States Senator from Illinois Carol Moseley Braun and women’s historian Lorissa Rinehart for a timely discussion about the enduring power of women’s leadership in American democracy.
As Shirley Chisholm said, women have always had to bring their own chairs when claiming a seat in the United States government. Tracing two groundbreaking women’s extraordinary journeys from uniquely American roots to the halls of power, Moseley Braun’s recent memoir, Trailblazer: Perseverance in Life and Politics, and Rinehart’s new biography of Jeannette Rankin, Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become America’s First Congresswoman, reveal just how true this has been throughout our country’s history.
In Trailblazer, Senator Moseley Braun reflects on her historic 1992 election as the first Black woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate, offering an intimate account of perseverance, public service, and the realities of breaking racial and gender barriers in American politics. In Winning the Earthquake, Rinehart tells the gripping story of Rankin’s 1916 campaign for Congress, an audacious victory that reshaped who could hold office and evolved the nation’s understanding of democratic participation.
More urgently, both books illuminate the capacity of women’s leadership to expand the possibilities of American democracy for all. Rankin’s historic run for Congress and Moseley Braun’s groundbreaking Senate campaign were not merely personal firsts, but watershed moments that redefined who could participate in government and broadened the meaning of “We the People.”
Together, Moseley Braun and Rinehart will explore how the wisdom earned in defeat and the courage forged in victory by those who came before can help guide the next generation of women leaders carrying the torch of American democracy toward a more perfect union.
Cost: $51.64 (includes tax and gratuity) | Attire: Smart Casual
Books will available for purchase onsite from Madison Street Books.
Space is limited. Advance registration is required.