In late June this year, Dale and I travelled to the small city of The Dalles, Oregon along the Columbia River for me to deliver a talk about the notorious Dr. Marie Equi. She and her girlfriend were homesteaders from Massachusetts who lived a quiet life in the city in the early 1890s -- until Marie changed all that with one impulsive act: she horsewhipped a school superintendent (who was also a Baptist minister) in the center of town. (She demanded the final payment owed to her girlfriend for teaching at a local school). The man was regarded a scoundrel in town, and people cheered Marie's efforts for justice.
For the rest of her life, even as an early woman doctor in the West, Marie was known as the notorious Dr. Equi who lived with and loved other women as she fought for justice, women’s and labor rights, and opposed unjust wars.
I gave my talk, titled “IT ALL STARTED HERE IN THE DALLES,” in the historic and ornate Moroccan-style Granada Theater, located at the same intersection where the raucous horsewhipping had shocked the citizenry. It was a fabulous night!
More than 125 people, mostly locals with a sprinkling of dedicated historians from Portland, crowded into the elaborately muraled interior that reminded me of San Francisco’s fabled Castro Theater. The audience was enthusiastic and generous with their applause. After already delivering more than 60 book talks in years passed, this one was a highlight.
Thanks to the architectural archeologists Eric Gleason and Jacqui Cheung, who hosted us, and for the support of the Original Wasco County Courthouse Museum, the Wasco Cultural Coalition, the Oregon Cultural Trust, and the Oregon Historical Society. And to Dale for exceptional projectionist skills, editing, and guidance.
For more about Marie Equi: see my biography, MARIE EQUI: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions, 2015, Oregon State University Press. Available on the major book selling sites.
Note: Marie Equi is memorialized as one of the Heroines in Portland State University’s Walk of the Heroines and with a bronze sidewalk plaque in the Rainbow Honor Walk in San Francisco. Until recently before business closure, she was celebrated at Portland’s lesbian bar, Doc Marie’s. The National Whaling Museum in Equi’s hometown of New Bedford, MA honors her as well.
For the rest of her life, even as an early woman doctor in the West, Marie was known as the notorious Dr. Equi who lived with and loved other women as she fought for justice, women’s and labor rights, and opposed unjust wars.
I gave my talk, titled “IT ALL STARTED HERE IN THE DALLES,” in the historic and ornate Moroccan-style Granada Theater, located at the same intersection where the raucous horsewhipping had shocked the citizenry. It was a fabulous night!
More than 125 people, mostly locals with a sprinkling of dedicated historians from Portland, crowded into the elaborately muraled interior that reminded me of San Francisco’s fabled Castro Theater. The audience was enthusiastic and generous with their applause. After already delivering more than 60 book talks in years passed, this one was a highlight.
Thanks to the architectural archeologists Eric Gleason and Jacqui Cheung, who hosted us, and for the support of the Original Wasco County Courthouse Museum, the Wasco Cultural Coalition, the Oregon Cultural Trust, and the Oregon Historical Society. And to Dale for exceptional projectionist skills, editing, and guidance.
For more about Marie Equi: see my biography, MARIE EQUI: Radical Politics and Outlaw Passions, 2015, Oregon State University Press. Available on the major book selling sites.
Note: Marie Equi is memorialized as one of the Heroines in Portland State University’s Walk of the Heroines and with a bronze sidewalk plaque in the Rainbow Honor Walk in San Francisco. Until recently before business closure, she was celebrated at Portland’s lesbian bar, Doc Marie’s. The National Whaling Museum in Equi’s hometown of New Bedford, MA honors her as well.
 |  |
RSS Feed