I was fortunate enough to recently see the musical Suffs, which tells the story of the final years of the suffrage movement in the early 1900s. This show largely focuses on the grass-roots efforts of Alice Paul, the prominent leader of the suffrage movement, as well as her relationship to her partners in the effort. Highlighted are her attempts to reconcile historical movements that have been more “socially acceptable” yet resulted in less change or progress, as well as her own reckoning with how her identity as an activist for radical change collides with other parts of her life.
The story emphasizes the great lengths to which Paul went to advocate for change, which includes arrests, hunger strikes, the loss of relationships, and leading the first protest at the White House.
Perhaps one of the most interesting themes of Suffs, however, is intersectionality and how Black women were left at the margins of the movement. Despite Paul’s bravery, she maintained a narrow-minded view of women’s rights. She was willing to disrupt in many ways, but not enough to allow the inclusion of Black women in the movement. Ida B. Wells’ efforts to ensure Black women were included in the suffrage movement are detailed, including in a scene where Wells maintains she and other Black women will not march at “the back of the line”, which was posed as a compromise by the White women leading the movement.
The strongest attempts at change were made by Paul and the group during the Wilson administration. To balance the devastation of this ongoing fight against gender inequality, some levity is brought by an unexpected romance between a suffragist and a member of Wilson’s administration who turns pro-Suffrage and resigns from his role with President Wilson. It left me wondering, “Did that really happen or was that added for entertainment?” It is, in fact, factual and anytime I am googling historical facts after a show or movie, I think it’s a good thing!
Living in the twenty-first century United States, it is easy to forget the many movements, predecessors, efforts and crusades that preceded us. The Trump administrations have certainly brought these movements more front of mind as we consider rebuilding the protective rights, liberties and protections we thought to be so secure but that have been recently dismantled. As many of us in the social and health care realm have said to one another over and over again, “how long will this take to rebuild?” and “how long will these harms take to repair?”
The suffrage movement’s blind spot of exclusion of women of color is certainly a timely reminder for us to approach our systemic change with a lens of intersectionality. Just like we ask ourselves the aforementioned questions, we also have to wonder, “If we could look back at these efforts in 20 years, 50 years…what would we do differently? Who are we leaving behind?” Some of those things can be addressed now by more deliberate inclusion efforts, slowing down and bringing folks to the table; and I think the passage of time in and of itself helps us answer additional questions. We hopefully learn and do better.
In summary, Suffs is a wonderful musical that is incredibly timely for our current social and political struggle. It reminds us of the possibility of change through connecting around a shared purpose and goal, combining our strengths, and persevering. It has wonderful music paired with lyrics that commands you to (literally or figuratively) “Keep marching…Keep marching!”
Here at CHaSCI, we will certainly keep our “march” moving forward, scanning for new opportunities for impact. We invite our CHaSCI and wider community to share with us how we can expand our table, always hoping to know better and do better.
Suffs will be playing in Chicago until July 19th 2026; you can visit https://suffsmusical.com/ for a full tour schedule, and hear the full album here.