“In light of the last election, I’m concerned about us as women. What is going on in our heads that we let that happen? What are girls dreaming about when the most qualified person running was a woman and look at what we did?” –- Michelle Obama at the United State of Women Summit (May 2018)
Film Overview
On November 8, 2016—Election Day—a collective primal scream began. It was a wake-up call that compelled thousands of women to mobilize in ways that America has never seen before. On January 21, 2017, an estimated 470,000 people (mostly women) took to the streets --more than three times the number of people who attended the inauguration¹ – to find solace with kindred spirits, exhibit their collective outrage, and affirm their strength.
A one-day phenomenon? Hardly.
In 2018, women were galvanized to run for office in unprecedented numbers and women at the grassroots level organized to ensure that their voices will be heard. Some are saying that 2018 is the new Year of the Woman, a throwback to 1992 when the number of female elected officials increased due in large part to backlash from the Anita Hill debacle. Twenty-Six years later history does appear to be repeating itself. Some women ran to push back against sexual misconduct. Additionally, the Congressional reactions to the allegations made by Christine Blasey Ford against Brett Kavanaugh demonstrate that many, especially those on the Senate Judiciary Committee, have not learned how to address the third rail of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The behavior of the largely male Senate calls into sharp focus the need for more women in elected office.
The 2018 Mid-Term Elections started a course correction. Nine (9) women women won Governor Races. A record 127 women will serve in Congress: 25 Senators and 102 Members of the House of Representatives.
This film will explore the New Year of the Woman from three (3) perspectives: Women Candidates who ran in the 2018 Election Cycle, Women-on-the-Street talking about the issues that motivated them to work on campaigns and to go to the polls in record numbers, and Women Leaders who after the 2018 Election Cycle rose to claim new levels of power.
Our Featured Characters:
Deb Haaland (New Mexico) (Democrat) Her historic win means that she will become one of the first Native American women to ever serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Lupe Valdez (Texas) (Democrat) -- She ran a valiant but unsuccessful race to become the next Governor of Texas. She aspired to become the first Latina and first openly gay woman to occupy this office.
Luiba Grechen Shirley (New York) (Democrat) -- She lost in her courageous and energetic race to unseat a 25-year Republican incumbent and to flip a red district to blue. She's a first-time politician who built her groundswell movement the old-fashioned way. She also changed the course of history for future women candidates when she petitioned the FEC successfully to allow her to use a portion of her campaign funds towards childcare.
Jineea Butler (New York) (Republican) -- She ran for U.S. Congress in Harlem-- a historic Democratic stronghold that previously sent Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Charles Rangel to the House of Representatives. Jineea, a first-time candidate, lost her race but set the stage for the third party that she wants to create where she brings the hip-hop community together around issues of social justice and economic development.
Our Team:
Melanie RW Oram – Director
Andretta Hamilton – Producer
Traci E. Alexander – Consulting Producer
Michelle Crenshaw – Director of Photography
NEW HERITAGE THEATRE GROUP IS THE FISCAL SPONSOR FOR Run Like A G.U.R.L.
RUN Like A G.U.R.L. is a Bajan Brownstone Production
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¹Crowd Scientists Say Women’s March in Washington Had 3 Times as Many People as Trump’s Inauguration — The New York Times January 22, 2017.
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