Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum Awarded Three Grants

ADAMS — The Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum received three grants from the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation for a total of $3,589.28, through its Berkshire Hills Fund for Excellence, Lee Educational Enrichment Fund, and Williamstown Elementary School Endowment Fund programs.

“This is a great opportunity to make fifth- and sixth-graders aware that they share the same roots as one of our nation’s finest advocates for women’s rights, Susan B. Anthony,” museum Director James Capuzzi said. “We are grateful to the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation for the opportunity to bring our museum directly to students in their classrooms.”

This program brings the inspiring story of Berkshire County’s own Susan B. Anthony to students at W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School in Great Barrington, Berkshire Hills Regional School District, Lee Middle and High School and Williamstown Elementary School.

Muriel Dyas of Herstorically Speaking reenacts Susan B. Anthony while students complete a timeline of her life, learn about pay inequity, and make a special ballot vote. The event concludes with a ‘votes for women’ march around school grounds complete with suffrage sashes, buttons, and student-made protest signs.

“My favorite audiences are those of elementary students. I find them inquisitive and appreciative of history coming to life,” Dyas said. “I believe Susan B. Anthony’s story is perfect for this age group because she teaches young people that you can come from a small Berkshire hamlet and make a difference in the world. Perseverance, determination, and intelligence are qualities all children should learn, and Susan is a role model of these qualities.”