Ellen Sargent Film

ELLEN SARGENT GOFUNDME FILM PROJECT DESCRIPTION


The year 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote. 


The Famous Marching Presidents* joins with women in their march toward equality by celebrating and commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the women’s right to vote with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment on August 18, 1920. 


This is an exceptional time for Nevada City, California as long-time resident Ellen Clark Sargent was key in writing and campaigning for some 40 odd years for the women’s right to vote—a pivotal step toward equality.


Ellen Clark Sargent was a leading suffragist, working with multiple organizations as well as the backrooms and parlors, where her husband Aaron Sargent's status as a politician, statesmen, journalist and lawyer provided access. Aaron Sargent is credited with writing the 28 words that became law, but there is no doubt that Ellen Clark Sargent significantly shaped both the document and campaign. We seek to recognize Ellen Sargent's heroic, unswerving effort on behalf of women.


To mark the occasion and also provide ongoing education on the importance of equality and recognition of leaders like Ellen Sargent, the Famous Marching Presidents are producing a 30-minute  interview with Ellen Clark Sargent, as portrayed by actress Mary Baird. Her twenty-first century interviewer is Nevada City businessman, Rick Ewald. 

Join us in producing "An Evening With Ellen". This 30-minute video will be made available publicly and along with educational resources, will be available to schools throughout the United States through free digital streaming.


2020 will see a break in the annual Constitution Day Parade due to COVID-19, making this video even more vital than originally anticipated when work was begun in January 2020. The original screenplay has been written by Nevada County writer Pamela Biery with extensive research conducted by Biery and actress Baird. Special thanks and recognition to the Searls Historical Library for their assistance in finding letters and legal documents which helped to shape the screenplay and insure its accuracy.


Your support will help produce the video and provide the basis for keeping this video available free for three years, along with helping to preserve cultural heritage in Nevada County.


This historic centennial offers an unparalleled opportunity to commemorate a milestone of democracy and to explore its relevance to issues of equal rights today.  The Nineteenth Amendment is still being contested and still protecting our rights. On June 15, 2020 the US Supreme Court upheld LGBQT rights on the basis of the Nineteenth Amendment.
 
Help us capture the 100th anniversary of this amendment and one of its key contributors, Ellen Clark Sargent.  Your contribution will help us share this video, and also produce supportive educational materials and cultural history events.


We appreciate the support of Nevada City Odd Fellows Oustomah Lodge #16, where the Sargents were members.

Please donate and help make this video happen! We hope you will be with us watching the premiere screening at our Constitution Day Celebration, September 19, 2020.


Thanks for your interest and support. Please share this project. 


The Executive Branch of the Famous Marching Presidents, Secret Service and Key Staff

p.s.—You can also mail donations directly to Famous Marching Presidents, PO Box 1432, Nevada City, CA 95959-1432

* The Famous Marching Presidents is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 dedicated to preserving the history of Constitution Day. Marching since 1988, local citizens dress as Presidents, First Ladies, and Secret Service agents creating a dynamic part of Nevada City’ historic observances and local heritage. Around the country, Constitution Day is observed in schools and handful of towns, but nowhere is it celebrated with such pomp and circumstance as in this tiny burg in the Sierra foothills. 

Interviewer Ewald is known for his portrayal of President Trump in the annual Famous Marching Presidents Constitution Day Parade, while Baird, (here portraying Ellen Sargent)  typically assumes the character of First Lady Florence Harding.