Unladylike 2020: American Masters

(Rochester, NY) – Illuminating the stories of extraordinary American heroines from the early years of feminism, American Masters presents Unladylike 2020. Airing Friday, July 10 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV, the film explores the stories of pioneering women in American politics who advocated for suffrage and civil rights over 100 years ago, including the first women in the U.S. Congress and State Senate, and a co-founder of the NAACP. 

This multimedia series consisting of a one-hour special for broadcast and 26 digital short films featuring courageous, little-known and diverse female trailblazers from the turn of the 20th century. These women achieved many firsts, including earning an international pilot’s license, becoming a bank president, founding a hospital, fighting for the desegregation of public spaces, exploring the Arctic, opening a film studio and singing opera at Carnegie Hall. Presenting history in a bold new way, American Masters Unladylike 2020, produced and directed by Charlotte Mangin (“America by the Numbers with Maria Hinojosa,” FRONTLINE), brings these incredible stories back to life through original artwork and animation, rare historical archival footage, and interviews with descendants, historians and accomplished modern women who reflect upon the influence of these pioneers. 

Unladylike 2020 is part of WXXI's Celebrate 2020 programming, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment throughout the year by honoring suffragists, feminist leaders and modern-day change makers. Support for Celebrate 2020 is made possible in part by a grant from the Avangrid Foundation with additional support from Cobblestone Capital Advisors.

Caption: Zitkála-Šá, aka Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, (1876–1938), American Indian Composer, Author & Civil Rights Activist.
Credit: Courtesy of Artwork by Amelie Chabannes. Copyright Unladylike Productions, LLC