The Big Debate, world premiere of an original play by Chris Garcia

The Big Debate, world premiere of an original play by Chris Garcia

The Big Debate by Chris Garcia

Location

University of South Carolina Aiken, Ethredge Center
240 Scholar Loop
Aiken South Carolina
South Carolina US
Tuesday, August 23, 2022 - 7:00pm

With the national premiere of an original playlet, The Big Debate, this event brings to life the fraught friendship and the competition for recognition between voting rights stalwarts Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony. The 15th Amendment, passed in 1869, states the right to vote “shall not be denied or abridged … on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The 19th Amendment, passed in 1919, states the right to vote “shall not be denied or abridged … on account of sex.” Within that 50-year span was a contentious rift in the suffrage movement over race and gender that has not healed in much of the U.S. to this day. Explore this division and its repercussions through live theater followed by a panel discussion among local historians.

Issues referenced by this event: