Borderland: The Life and Times of Blanche Ames Ames

Berkshire Museum’s Little Cinema wil screen Borderland: The Life and Times of Blanche Ames Ames (1878-1969), an artist, activist and inventor, birth control maverick and a leader of the woman suffrage movement in Massachusetts — in partnership with the Berkshire County Historical Society.

Ames was a woman of privilege who was not afraid to shock polite society. Her name doesn’t appear in most American history books. This, too, is part of her story.

Beginning with a speech she delivered to President McKinley as president of her class at Smith College (class of 1899), Blanche Ames became a leader of the woman suffrage movement in Massachusetts. She used her talents as an artist to create pro-suffrage political cartoons that both inspired and enraged. President Taft responded personally to one of her cartoons. Later, Blanche would turn her attention to reproductive rights, becoming the first president of the Birth Control League of Massachusetts in 1916. She eventually split with Margaret Sanger over the issue of eugenics.

Blanche Ames took on society’s elite, the Catholic Church, even her in-laws while advocating for women’s rights. Fortunately, she chose a partner, husband Oakes Ames, who was not related, though they shared the same last name before marriage. Oakes Ames was equally dedicated to women’s rights. Together, the couple wrote, drew, rallied, and organized, all while raising four children at their home called Borderland, now a Massachusetts state park in North Easton, Massachusetts.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with the film’s writer and narrator Kate Klise. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the film starts at 7 p.m., sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union.

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