Women have helped shape America over the last 50 years through one of the most sweeping social revolutions in our country’s history, in pursuit of their rights to a full and fair share of political power, economic opportunity, and personal autonomy.
The new documentary, “Makers: Women Who Make America,” documents unforgettable moments in history through the stories of exceptional women whose pioneering contributions continue to shape the world in which we live. The film chronicles women who led the fight, those who opposed it, and those — both famous and unknown — who were caught in its wake.
Narrated by three-time Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, “Makers: Women Who Make America,” which airs Tuesday, February 26, at 8pm, takes its cue from the movement’s motto, “the personal is political,” delving into the personal lives of its subjects. The film includes first-person accounts from movement leaders like author and feminist activist Gloria Steinem and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton; opponents like conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly; celebrities like media leader Oprah Winfrey and journalist Katie Couric; political figures like former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and many everyday women who confronted the dramatic social upheaval in their own lives.
Through the perspectives of those who lived through these historic milestones, the film will recount the seminal events in the Women’s Movement, including the publication of The Feminine Mystique in 1963, the battles to end discriminatory laws and practices over the following decade, and Anita Hill’s testimony against Clarence Thomas before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991. It will also go much further, telling the surprising and unknown stories of women who broke barriers in their own chosen fields — from the coal mines of West Virginia to the boardrooms of Madison Avenue. And it will take the story to today, when a new generation is both defending and questioning the legacy of their mothers.
One local “Maker,” a Sacramento-area woman who has impacted the community, will be featured in a special episode of Studio Sacramento, airing Friday, February 22, at 7:30 pm on KVIE.
For more information, visit Makers.com.
