Documentary showcases the stories women who changed Ohio’s political scene
The documentary was years in the making.
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — Tuesday night, it was all about trailblazing women at the Bowen-Thompson Student Union on the campus of Bowling Green State University.
“It’s a nice break from current politics because the film isn’t about current politics. It’s about women who are both Democrats and Republicans who began running for elected office in the 1960s and the 1970s and they faced obstacles, they faced naysayers, they got pushback, they were treated like novelties,” explained Dr. Melissa Miller, professor of political science at BGSU.
Dr. Miller also served as the documentary’s executive producer. This is the last Northwest Ohio screening of the film, which has been screened all across the state in partnership with the League of Women Voters, and will air on WBGU-PBS this Thursday at 9:30 p.m.
“It means so much to me to see my colleagues here tonight, so many of my students, my former students here tonight, all the folks from WBGU-PBS who made this possible. I came to them with an idea back in 2018 that was like ‘Hum, would you be interested in possibly making a documentary? I’m thinking we’d interview women who’ve broken electoral barriers.’ — and they said yes,” Miller said.
And this documentary wouldn’t have been possible even without some of Dr. Miller’s students, who served as research assistants, gathering photos and historical records to accompany the many laughs the film served up throughout the night.
“They know every trailblazer’s history backward and forward,” she said.
And Miller says seeing this documentary is an experience that should hit close to home.
“Books have been written about Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin and Nancy Pelosi and Nikki Haley — and their accomplishments are amazing — but these are your neighbors,” she added.
And this is all a part of a much larger project, which will soon include oral histories and extended interviews with those featured in the documentary. You can learn more at bgsu.edu/trailblazers.
