In Honor of Women’s History, two events are free and available for the public.
In the Spirit of American Women Breaking Barriers
On Sunday, March 23, at 2 p.m. at Seward Memorial Library, Sherrie Tolliver will reflect on the attributes of the many historical women that she has portrayed. She will discuss how these same qualities and characteristics emerge in the women who have helped shape Nebraska’s history. This program is part of the Arthur Clarke Diversity Series.
On Tuesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. at Concordia University in the Thom Auditorium, Tolliver will present a portrayal of Rosa Parks and the Women of the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Tolliver is an actress with Women in History Ohio, a dramatic society dedicated to the retelling of stories of various notable women from many historical periods.
Tolliver joined Women in History Ohio in 1994, three years after the group’s founding, and has been with WIH ever since. She enjoys portraying characters who have a “rags-to-riches” theme in their life. Tolliver holds a BFA in acting from New York University’s TIsch School of the Arts and currently works as an early childhood educator alongside her dramatic and comedic performances. She has also taught drama at the Cleveland School of the Arts, the Beck Center and the Jerry Leonard Youth Center.
According to Women in History Ohio, Tolliver said that her work “combines the two things I love, history and acting, with the two things I enjoy doing, teaching and performing.” In addition to Rosa Parks, she has also portrayed women like Bessie Coleman, Madame CJ Walker and Marie Leveau.
“These women inspired me because they triumphed over incredibly difficult circumstances,” Tolliver said.
Tolliver will perform at Concordia as Rosa Parks, who became a well-known figure after refusing to give up her seat in a “whites-only” section of a city bus in 1955. Before this event, she was already an established leader in the civil rights movement in Alabama. Her act of resistance landed her in jail but eventually led to the desegregation of public transportation in Montgomery.
This talk is funded by the Enhancing Multicultural Experiences gift account of Gail Clarke-Smith. This guest lecture at Concordia University is part of the Looking Beyond speaker series, which is made possible through an ongoing gift from the Martin and Regina Maehr family that was created to expose Concordia Nebraska students and the Seward community to diverse speakers and ideas. The event is free and open to the public.
