"Yours for Humanity - Abby" To Be Performed at Holy Cross

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester Women’s History Project will present “Yours for Humanity – Abby,” a 30-minute, one-woman play based on the letters and speeches of Worcester abolitionist and women’s rights activist Abby Kelley Foster on Monday, Feb. 23 at 4 p.m. in the Levis Browsing Room (Dinand Library) at Holy Cross. The performance is free and open to the public.

Abby Kelley was a radical abolitionist, crusading publicly against slavery and campaigning for equal rights at a time when women were expected to remain quiet and submissive. Although she was often met with extreme hostility, she remained true to her beliefs. Eventually she began to devote more of her time to women’s rights. William Lloyd Garrison called her “the moral Joan of Arc of the world,” for her dedication to social justice and her efforts to end race and gender prejudice.

Designed to educate the public on the significance of the life and work of Abby Kelley Foster, “Yours for Humanity – Abby” was written by Holy Cross sociology professor Carolyn Howe and Karen Board, a teacher at Auburn Middle School.

The Worcester Women's History Project is a non-profit volunteer organization founded in 1994 to raise awareness of the importance of the first National Woman's Rights Convention and to highlight the role of Worcester – a center of radical abolitionist activity – in the early women's rights movement.

This performance is sponsored by the Holy Cross Women’s Studies program. The Worcester Women’s History Project is the sole owner and distributor of the play, “Yours for Humanity – Abby.” Major funding for the development and initial performances of the play was provided by Fleet Boston Financial Foundation and was supported in part with a grant from the Worcester Cultural Commission.