Tea & Justice Virtual Tea Party
A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY
Hosted by Thistle Farms founder Becca Stevens, Fiona Prine, and Tanya Hollandcommemorating the 100 year anniversary of women's right to vote.
The Brewing of a Movement
Tea and Equality
The suffrage movement was born over a tea party turned launch pad for women’s rights. Tea became the centerpiece of fundraising, including the distribution of Equality Tea by the Women’s Suffrage Party. The ensuing sale and protests for the distribution of Equality Tea demonstrated that women’s votes were commercially and politically viable.
Becca Stevens
Author, Speaker, and Founder of Thistle Farms
Tanya Holland
Chef, Cookbook Author, Owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen, and Hospitality Guru
Fiona Prine
Humanitarian, Advocate For Women's Rights, and Thistle Farms Global Advisory Board Member
Becca Stevens
Author, Speaker, and Founder of Thistle Farms
After experiencing the death of her father and subsequent child abuse when she was 5, Becca longed to open a sanctuary for survivors offering a loving community. In 1997, five women who had experienced trafficking, violence, and addiction were welcomed home.
She leads important conversations across the country by speaking, writing, and heading a national network of like-minded organizations. She has established 10 justice enterprises and helped raise more than $55M dollars for social justice causes.
Becca has been featured in the New York Times, on ABC World News and NPR, was recently named a 2016 CNN Hero and a White House “Champion of Change." She was featured in the PBS documentary, A Path Appears, named Humanitarian of the Year by the Small Business Council of America and inducted into the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame.
She attended the University of the South and Vanderbilt Divinity School and has been conferred four honorary doctorates.
Tanya Holland
Chef, Cookbook Author, Owner of Brown Sugar Kitchen, and Hospitality Guru
Acclaimed for her inventive take on modern soul food, as well as comfort classics, Tanya Holland is the Executive Chef/Owner of the internationally renowned and beloved Brown Sugar Kitchen restaurants, located in the San Francisco Bay Area. The author of The Brown Sugar Kitchen Cookbook and New Soul Cooking, Holland competed on the 15th season of Top Chef on Bravo, was the host and soul food expert on Food Network’s Melting Pot, and appears on the new HBO Max show Selena + Chef featuring Selena Gomez (Holland appears on the episode running on August 27, 2020). She is a frequent contributing writer and chef to the James Beard Foundation, and Brown Sugar Kitchen (Oakland, CA) has received multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards. She is an in-demand public speaker and lecturer who frequently leads the conversation on inclusion and equity in the hospitality industry.
Fiona Prine
Humanitarian, Advocate For Women's Rights, and Thistle Farms Global Advisory Board Member
Fiona Whelan was born and raised in Ireland where she worked as Business Manager for Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. While working with artists such as U2, Van Morrison and more, she met and later married, American songwriter, the late John Prine.
In 2015, Fiona took over management of John’s career. Now, with her oldest son, Jody, she oversees all aspects of John's legacy including the family record label, Oh Boy Records, several publishing entities and special projects.
Fiona is an active member of the Nashville community, particularly Thistle Farms, a global organization dedicated to providing healing and economic freedom for women.
Her advocacy continues daily in her vocal support of Black Lives Matter, breast cancer awareness and prevention, and the thousands of musicians whose livelihoods have been all but decimated by of the spread of COVID-19. She denounces racism and discrimination in all its forms.
The Ratification of The 19th Amendment
An important step, but not the finish line
Voting rights trailed for years for many minorities. Though Black American women were included in the 19th amendment, many could not freely exercise the right until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned racially discriminatory voting practices.
This disparity is echoed today with the ongoing movements for justice and equality nationally and globally.
