Boq pushes Nessarose in her wheelchair. She is smiling widely with her arms outstretched, glittering silver shoes on her feet.

Wicked: Overture to History

Reprinted by permission of Wicked

Elphaba’s story in Wicked is a timeless one: a woman who fights for what she believes is right is attacked by society, branded “dangerous” and “evil.”

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of women throughout history who have dared to challenge the laws of their day in their pursuit of justice. Following are brief profiles of seven extraordinary women, every one of whom “defied gravity” in her own way.

Sojourner Truth

SOJOURNER TRUTH

(1797 – 1883)

“We’ll have our rights. See if we don’t. And they can’t stop us. See if they can.”

Born into slavery in New York as Isabella Baumfree, she was auctioned away from her family in 1809. Just before the 1827 law freeing slaves in New York State went into effect, her son Peter was illegally sold. She went to court in protest, and in 1828 became the first black woman to win a suit against a white man.

In 1843 she changed her name to Sojourner Truth; she traveled widely, preaching and speaking against slavery. Her spontaneous, down-to-earth style drew large crowds wherever she went. She worked on behalf of freed slaves and women’s rights until her death in 1883.

Harriet Tubman

HARRIET TUBMAN

(1820 – 1913)

“I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.”

Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in Maryland, and later led more than 300 other slaves to freedom. Harriet Tubman was the best-known conductor on the Underground Railroad; she spoke against slavery and for women’s rights.

During the Civil War, Harriet Tubman served with the U.S. Army in South Carolina, as a nurse, scout, spy and soldier. She led the Combahee River expedition, under the command of James Montgomery, helping to blow up Southern supply lines and free hundreds of slaves.

Mary Harris Jones

“MOTHER” MARY HARRIS JONES

(1830 – 1930)

“Injustice boils in men’s hearts as does steel in its cauldron, ready to pour forth, white hot, in the fullness of time.”

A tireless champion of worker’s rights, “Mother” Jones was known as “the most dangerous woman in America.” She was born in Ireland; her family immigrated to Canada when she was a child. In 1861 she married and had a family with George Jones, an ironworker and union organizer. Just six years later, George and the couple’s four young children died in an epidemic of yellow fever.

“Mother” Jones became active in the union movement, participating in the rail strike of 1877, organizing the coalfields of Pennsylvania in 1899, and taking part in the founding convention of the Industrial Workers of the World in 1905. She continued her work on behalf of laborers until her death.

Ida B. Wells

IDA B. WELLS

(1862 – 1931)

“One had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat caught in a trap.”

The daughter of slaves, Ida B. Wells was a fierce agitator for human rights. When a train conductor insisted she move to the “Jim Crow” car reserved for blacks, she refused. He tried to drag her from the train, and she bit him. She later brought a suit against the railroad and won (although the verdict was eventually overturned).

She was part owner of the Memphis Star newspaper and wrote searing editorials against the practice of lynching. Although her newspaper was destroyed in retaliation, she did not back down. She continued to speak out throughout America and Europe and became one of the founders of the NAACP.

Yuri Kochiyama

YURI KOCHIYAMA

(1922 – 2014)

“I don’t think there will ever be a time when people will stop wanting to bring about change.”

During World War II, she was among 120,000 Japanese-Americans taken by force from their homes to internment (concentration) camps. Seeing the parallels between the treatment of Asian-Americans and African-Americans, Yuri became actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement throughout the 1960s and 1970s. She held a dying Malcolm X in her arms when he was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom.

Yuri and her husband Bill Kochiyama joined the successful fight to gain reparations for those Japanese-Americans who were incarcerated during World War II.  She has worked for the release of political prisoners and supported the fight of oppressed people against imperialism around the world.

Dolores Huerta

DOLORES HUERTA

(1930 – )

“Don’t be a marshmallow. Walk the street with us into history. Get off the sidewalk. Stop being vegetables. Work for justice. Viva the boycott!”

With Cesar Chavez, she co-founded the United Farm Workers movement, fighting for the rights of Mexican-American farm workers. She organized the 1960s grape boycott, worked to pass the first laws protecting collective-bargaining rights for California farm workers in 1975, and helped establish the first credit union for farm workers.

She continues to tour the country giving lectures and lobbying for workers’ rights legislation.

Anna Mae Pictou Aquash

ANNA MAE PICTOU AQUASH

(1945 – 1975)

“The whole country changed with only a handful of raggedy-ass pilgrims that came over here in the 1500s. And it can take a handful of raggedy-ass Indians to do the same, and I intend to be one of those raggedy-ass Indians.”

A member of the native Canadian Miqmaq tribe, Anna Mae was raised in poverty. She joined the American Indian Movement, which spoke out against generations of injustice which native peoples had endured at the hands of the United States government. She took part in the 1973 occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

She worked for the preservation of traditional cultures and the rights of native peoples. Her activism and outspoken nature eventually led to her death. In December 1975 she was kidnapped, shot and left to die of exposure. In 2004, a fellow member of the AIM was brought to trial for her murder, although investigations continue.

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Wicked
Jul 24 – Aug 25, 2024 • Buell Theatre
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