Eudora Woolfolk Ramsay Richardson 
1891-1973
Virginia Suffragist and Author
Written and Performed By:Ê Lilly Church
Setting: Richmond, Virginia, 1950

EudoraÕs co-worker has stopped by her house to deliver the news that she will be receiving an award at work. Rather than be congratulatory, the young man makes an underhanded comment about her work. The following scene ensues.

Enough. Do you thinkÊjustÊanyone deserves an award?ÊWe have worked together for 10Êyears, George, and all you have ever done is mock my work. I have yet to figure out what you even do for your job! 
For 10 years, I have been writing training manuals for soldiers. 10 years of writing manuals for the good of this country. Not for myself. Not to bring benefit to my own life. I stepped away from what I love. From helping people, yes, from helping women. I stepped away from a real battle that comes with no congratulations and no reward. 
Look, I have been fighting for womenÕs rights since 1910, from the moment I figured out how important the vote is for women. In college I developed my own ideas, and I am lucky to be an educated woman. It took every bit of that education to work at Fort Lee. 
You think that because I am a woman that I donÕt know what real work is, that I want to work but I donÕt want to do the hard stuff, right? 
When I was 17,ÊI gotÊtrampledÊatÊa suffrageÊparade. They took me to aÊhospitalÊwhere the doctorÊtoldÊmeÊÒthis is what happens when women try to leave the house.ÓÊ But when they finally released me, I went right back to the parade. 
AfterÊcollege I started to work for the Equal Suffrage Leagues of both Virginia and South Carolina. I organized women in 8 states to fight for our voting rights. ÊAfter the vote was passed, it took years of working on committees, speaking to organizations -- joining local governments to see a real change in the rights of women. I understand what it means to fight. 
I also understand the importance of documenting history. We write training manuals and record our accomplishments at Fort Lee to be efficient and accurate. We donÕt want to backtrack or try the same tactics over and over again, so we write them down and file them away for future reference. The same goes for what happens around you every day. I write down my fight for women's suffrage because I donÕt want future generations to find themselves fighting the same damn fight against people like you decades from now. One day, we will be history, and whatÊIÊhave done will matter. And your jokes and bits will be gone, and you will have been nothing of use to anyone. 

So, unless you want to make a change at Fort LeeÉ not making fun of the women there, not making the next girlÕs life miserableÉ then at least understand that this award is worth a little more than what you do all day.