VOICES OF WOMEN CONCERT SERIES:

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"Coretta Scott King" & "Sojourner Truth"

Vegas City Opera and the League of Womens Voters will present the Voices of Women Concert Series in celebration of two groundbreaking Civil Rights activists Coretta Scott King and Sojourner Truth. The series is also made possible by a grant from Nevada Humanities and support from Summerlin Library and Performing Arts Center and the Windmill Library.

The Voices of Women Concert Series will present the courageous and historic landmark stories of these two groundbreaking women as well as the freedom songs, gospel, and art songs inspired by the eras as they tell the stories of the incredible journey of these abolitionists and freedom riders.  Dr. Richard L. Hodges has re-envisioned and adapted the two pieces for the stage, with in-depth research into the era and its music as well as what influence these two women had on the Nation and Nevada.

“The League of Women Voters is celebrating our 100-year anniversary in 2020, so we are spending the year uplifting women’s stories and voices in as many ways as possible. The Vegas City Opera’s Voices of Women Concert Series aligns perfectly with League’s commitment to telling the stories of all women, so we are proud to be a sponsor, stated Sondra Cosgrove, President of the League of Women Voters of Southern Nevada” 

In honor of African American History month, actress and opera singer Carmen Artis leads a quartet of singers through the life and work of Coretta Scott King. From her early beginnings, starting with her groundbreaking Civil Rights work with her husband Martin Luther King Jr., and her later life’s work in the fields of gender equality, poverty, and the peace movement – this concert features an oral history combined with songs, anthems, and spirituals of the times that brings King’s story to life.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Sojourner Truth, an African American abolitionist and women’s rights activist during the American Civil War will again be reimagined by Ms. Artis along with the vocalists Courtney Ankerfelt and ShaRhonda Ramos. This concert will present her life in the racially segregated world, early women rights advocacy and her famous speech ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’. Her legacy leaves a powerful reflection for others to fight for their own freedom and representing of the equality of hard work by enslaved Africans whether they were men or women, freed or unfreed.

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan organization that does not support or oppose political candidates and does not work directly with any political party. We do engage in voter registration, provide our community with candidate guides and other civics information, and advocate for good governance, healthy communities, and individual civil rights.

The League of Women Voters is celebrating our 100-year anniversary in 2020 with a campaign to end partisan gerrymandering.  In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts can no longer accept partisan gerrymandering cases, so good governance advocates are taking the fight against gerrymandering to the state level. The League of Women Voters of Nevada, therefore, filed a constitutional amendment ballot question to move redistricting from our legislature to a transparent redistricting commission. We believe voters should select their elected officials, elected officials should not select their voters.  Please contact us if you would like to support our effort to keep gerrymandering out of Nevada.

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