Edition No. 22
In this Edition
Arts and Community
In continuation of our Women’s History Month celebration, we're highlighting some of the strong females The War Memorial has partnered with over the years. From global powerhouses to local legends, we’ve worked with some fiercely talented individuals.
Our American Values
This week, we continue our series that examines what Americans need to become more responsible and effective citizens. Below is an article from The Washington Post, which looks at the effort to refocus and reinvest in social studies and civics education.
Women’s History Month
Celebrating Our Female Partners
Continuing our celebration of Women’s History Month, The War Memorial is proud to profile a few of the successful and inspirational women we’ve collaborated with in the past. From media superstars to arts and culture powerhouses, much of our past programming lineup has been female-led. Read below to learn more about our partners, the work we’ve done together, and where you can find more information on each.
Empowered Women Empower Women
Sam White
Shakespeare in Detroit
Sam White is the founding artistic and executive director of Shakespeare in Detroit. Her past credits include the prestigious Paul Nicholson Arts Management Fellowship at Oregon Shakespeare Festival (2017); additionally, she was a member of the 2018 Cohort for ArtEquity in Los Angeles and served as the Assistant Director for Antoni Cimolino’s 2018 production of The Tempest at the Stratford Festival in Canada. Sam recently completed the Director’s Intensive at Yale University during its summer session, bringing a plethora of knowledge back to Metro Detroit.
The War Memorial has partnered with Sam and Shakespeare in Detroit many times, bringing both classic Shakespeare literature to our audiences, as well as their popular dramatic reading of A Christmas Carol (while normally in-person in front of a roaring fire, this past year we shifted to a virtual performance). Sam was also featured as a guest on our radio show Inspired Heroes, where she discussed her unique connection to theater and how her love for iambic pentameter started at such a young age.
Barbara Pierce Bush
Global Health Corps
Barbara Bush is CEO and co-founder of Global Health Corps (GHC), which mobilizes a global community of young leaders to build the movement for health equity. GHC was founded in 2009 by six twentysomethings who were challenged by Peter Piot at the aids2031 Young Leaders Summit to engage their generation in solving the world’s biggest health challenges. Barbara and her co-founders were united by the belief that health is a human right and that their generation must build the world where this is realized.
In April of 2019, The War Memorial hosted Barbara for an intimate evening with two hundred of our closest friends. Barbara shared with the crowd her experience in starting the Global Health Corps as well as the experiences of those on the front lines of delivering care. Her message of hope compelled us to continue leading and giving back, not just within our communities, but on a global scale as well.
Joanna Hyde
One For The Foxes
Joanna Hyde is an award-winning fiddler and vocalist, a Colorado native, and a member of the extraordinary trio, One For The Foxes. A recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Graduate Arts Award, Joanna has an MA in Irish Traditional Music Performance from the prestigious Irish World Academy in Limerick.
Joanna and the band have visited The War Memorial a handful of times, enchanting our audiences with their rousing blend of Irish and American folk music. This past year, due to the pandemic, the group was unable to return for a holiday performance. Instead, we produced a trans-Atlantic virtual concert, free to all our patrons!
Angela Theis and Dianne Schoff
Sing To Love
Anglea Theis was an original member of the Michigan Opera Theatre Studio, serving as the soprano resident artist from 2015 to 2017. Angela is featured on the 2018 David DiChiera Letters and Fantasies album and continues to be an ambassador for Michigan Opera Theatre and the music of its late founder. Past performances with Michigan Opera Theatre included Beth in Little Women, the High Priestess in Aida, and Marzelline in Fidelio.
Diane Schoff is a mezzo-soprano and a regular character on stage with regional companies throughout Michigan and around the country. Diane joined Opera Grand Rapids for her third consecutive season in their 2019 production of The Mikado and has received high praise for her company and role debuts with Opera Carolina and Opera Grand Rapids.
Angela and Diane dazzled the crowd at our Sing to Love event in February 2020. Following a gourmet dinner in our ballroom, guests were escorted to our Patriot Theater, where they enjoyed a scintillating performance by these incredible artists. Sing to Love was one of our last public gatherings before The War Memorial temporarily closed due to the pandemic.
Marie Osborne
WJR News Talk 760
Marie Osborne is a household name in metro-Detroit. She is an anchor and reporter for WJR Radio Detroit, and has been named one of the most influential women in Detroit radio. Marie has reported from China and Europe and her work has been heard internationally on the BBC and Voice of America. She is a three-time winner of the national Edward R. Murrow award and the winner of a National Headliner Award. Marie has been honored multiple times by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters and Associated Press.
Marie also found time to partner with The War Memorial and serve as the co-host of our radio show Inspired Heroes. While on air, Marie has a unique gift for forming quick relationships, putting first-time guests at ease, and creating a strong rapport with radio veterans. Marie facilitated some of our show’s most meaningful conversations, including her interview with Barbara Pierce Bush (Marie also had the privilege of interviewing Barbara’s grandmother many years prior), New York Times best-selling author A.J. Baime, and Detroit change-maker Tyrone Chatman. Click or tap here to hear all twelve episodes of Inspired Heroes.
Major Mary Jennings Hegar
Shoot Like A Girl
Major MJ Hegar is a force to be reckoned with. While piloting her third tour of Afghanistan, she was shot down. Badly injured, and under heavy fire, she still flew her team to safety, conducting a near-impossible landing. She received a Purple Heart and a Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, an honor awarded to only a handful of women. When her injuries barred her from service, she fought a policy that excluded women — a historic victory for female military members. An incredible story — set to become a major motion picture — Hegar’s bravery inspires audiences to persevere through change, hardship, and any obstacles in their way.
In 2018, The War Memorial welcomed Major Jennings to speak about her bestselling book, Shoot Like a Girl: One Woman's Dramatic Fight in Afghanistan and on the Home Front. Major Jennings shared with the audience her military experience, as well as stories of inspiration and patriotic leadership. Those in attendance were challenged to think of ways we can best honor and recognize our veteran communities and foster a more positive spirit of patriotism.
Glennon Doyle
Love Warrior
Glennon Doyle is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Untamed, a Reese's Book Club selection, which has sold over two million copies. She is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Love Warrior, an Oprah's Book Club selection, and Carry On, Warrior. An activist and “patron saint of female empowerment” (People), Glennon is the founder and president of Together Rising, an all-women-led nonprofit organization that has revolutionized grassroots philanthropy — raising over $30 million for women, families, and children in crisis. She lives in Florida with her wife and three children.
In the fall of 2016, over four hundred guests visited The War Memorial to hear from Glennon Doyle. While in front of our audience, Glennon shared her struggles with addiction, stories of heartbreak, and in turn, a new optimistic outlook on life. Glennon’s visit to The War Memorial was part of the book tour for her second book, Love Warrior. Since then, Glennon published her third book, Untamed, which has sold more than two million copies as of February 2021.
Education for Responsible Citizenship
There is a persuasive body of evidence showing that our nation has long neglected civics and social studies education. Only twenty-two states require that high school students demonstrate a meaningful understanding of our system of government to graduate and annual surveys show an appalling lack of knowledge of even our most fundamental rights on the part of adult Americans. There is also a growing consensus that neglecting social studies and civics education has contributed to our present political dysfunction and, possibly, to events of January 6th. There is much less consensus, however, as to exactly what Americans need to know to become more responsible and effective citizens.
So, for the next few editions, we will use this space within Inspired Thoughts devoted to American Democracy to consider four questions that are at the heart of our work:
How much do Americans really know about our system of government?
Can better civics and social studies education truly remedy America’s political dysfunction?
What needs to be emphasized, or not emphasized, in a renewed focus on civics and social studies?
How can we also reach adults who seemed to have missed, or forgotten, civics class?
Can Better Social Studies and Civic Education Truly Remedy America’s Political Dysfunction?
Last week, we established that Americans know alarmingly little about our Constitution and system of government. This week, we begin exploring why that is a problem and what various groups are proposing to do in response. In an article published on the eve of the release of the Educating for American Democracy report on civics and social studies education in America, the Washington Post’s Joe Heim interviewed project leaders including Louise Dubé, executive director of iCivics. “This project is about restoring the ability to self-govern and clearly we have a serious problem with that right now,” said Dubé. She continued, “At the core of what self-government requires is for you to understand the history, to understand it from multiple perspectives to know more history, but also to be able to talk and discuss with others who disagree with you and to form a path forward. And all of those things are very critical right now.”
We will return for the details of the report and roadmap in a few weeks. In the meantime, read on for an exploration of the reasoning behind this effort to refocus and reinvest in social studies and civics education. Click or tap here to read the full article.
“Massive investment in social studies and civics education proposed to address eroding trust in democratic institutions”
Inspired Thoughts is a collection of highly curated content that embraces the spirit and purpose of The War Memorial: arts and culture, community enrichment, leadership, and patriotism.
Derived from the notion that learning from others is the key to success, Inspired Thoughts is meant to shine a light on those making a difference in the world around them. This collection features artists, poets, writers, architects, and every thought leader in-between. Inspired Thoughts is the strongest reflection of what The War Memorial stands for, and what we aim to be.
The content featured on Inspired Thoughts is curated by War Memorial leadership — we also look forward to featuring special guest curators in the near future. If you are interested in providing content for Inspired Thoughts, please email our Community Engagement team at bhoste@warmemorial.org.