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Women’s Suffrage: The Untold Story of Black Women in Its History: Speakers

Materials accompanying a program presented by the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law in September 2020.

Speaker Information

*in alphabetical, not order of speaking*

Margie Charasika

Dr. Margie Charasika is a retired Registered Nurse and Nurse Educator. She is a past president of the National Council of Negro Women – Louisville Section and currently serves as the President of the League of Women Voters of Louisville. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Delta Louisville Alumnae Life Development Center and has served in the past on the Board of Directors for St. Xavier High School, Kentucky County Day School, and the YMCA Safe Place Services. She is a Certified Ombudsman for Long Term Care and has served as a mediator for the Louisville Small Claims Court.

Margie, a native of Etowah, Tennessee, graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. She later received a Master of Science of Nursing Degree (MSN) and Doctoral Degree in Education from Spalding University and a Master in Conflict Management (MSCM) from Sullivan University.

Jermaine Fowler 

As one of the nation’s up and coming historical storytellers and public educators, Jermaine Fowler's work questions where we place ourselves in the legacies of history. His work deals with unsettling history and the current reality of today’s world: post-industrial cities stricken by poverty, racism, inadequate healthcare, and educational inequality.

In spite of this, he offers an underlying hope by studying those traditions of excellence which have served to connect us and push for a better world. By featuring voices and perspectives traditionally erased from the narratives of the past, Jermaine not only captures our historical blind spots—he teaches us how history is a powerful tool for transformational change. Jermaine Fowler was born and raised in South Louisville.  You can find his work at the nationally recognized Humanity Archive educational website (www.thehumanityarchive.com) and podcast.

Rachel Platt

Rachel Platt is the Director of Community Engagement at the Frazier History Museum, she came to the Frazier in January of last year after more than 30 years as a journalist at WHAS-TV.  She loves telling stories, and continues to tell them in a new way at the Frazier.  She was selected to be inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 2020.

Enid Trucios-Haynes

Enid Trucios-Haynes is a Professor of Law at the University of Louisville, where she serves as Director of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace & Justice, Co-Director of the Brandeis Human Rights Advocacy Program, and Co-Principal Investigator and Co-Director of the Cooperative Consortium for Transdisciplinary Social Justice Research.  She is a nationally recognized scholar in immigration law and her work focuses on race and the law. She has received numerous awards for her teaching and service both on campus (including as President of the Faculty Senate) and within the community (including service to Metro Louisville and ACLU of Kentucky).  She is a regular speaker on immigration issues.  She supervises the Marshall Brennan “We The People” program at the law school through which law students teach at the Central High School Law and Government Magnet program.  Her focus on the intersection of issues of race and gender has brought insights into the issue of the connection of the 15th Amendment and the 19th Amendment related to suffrage.

Marsha Weinstein

Marsha Weinstein is a civic activist with a passion for women’s history and girl leadership development. Currently she is the President of the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites. She is Founder and Vice-President of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Trust and the Founder and Past President of the Patty and Mildred Hill Happy Birthday Park. She is the former Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Women where she convinced three Kentucky Governors to grant clemency and pardons to more than twenty-four women who were imprisoned for killing or conspiring to kill their abusers.

Marsha has also served on the national Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of the USA and chaired the national Nominating Committee of the League of Women Voters of the US. She is a founding officer of Court Appointed Special Advocates, Founder of Youthbuild Louisville, and Founder of Louisville Girls Leadership. She is a contributing author to 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s History and Sisters in Pain, Battered Women Fight Back.  She holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Tennessee.