Mrs. America Season 1 Episode 7, “Bella,” shows the cutthroat competition between the two sides in the lead-up to the first ever government-funded National Women’s Conference headed by Bella Abzug.. Bella (Margo Martindale) must walk the fine bi-partisan line between being radical and appealing to the middle. Phyllis rings up Lottie, the catholic woman she courted in the last episode. Abzug rolls her eyes, but sees the practicality in her argument; the more money spent to bus women in, the better. Dallas Higgins, wife of George Higgins, was one of 20 Mississippi delegates to attend the conference, though she told the Clarion-Ledger that she was not there to represent the Ku Klux Klan, adding, “If we (Klan members) were going to disrupt the convention, we would have done it in Mississippi (at the July IWY conference in Jackson).” Her own husband, however, sang a different tune. According to the book Rightward Bound: Making America Conservative in the 1970s, the Citizens’ Review Committee was established in March of 1977, just a few months before the convention, and as news of it circulated, “conservative groups, working in loose coalitions that varied from state to state, managed what were called ‘takeovers’ of several conferences including Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Oklahoma, Ohio, Nebraska, and Utah.”. These echo references in earlier episodes to the controversial far-right group the John Birch Society. and has quietly played some of the best roles in film and television over many years. Find out when Mrs America is on TV, including Series 1-Episode 7: Bella. Bella S1 E7 13 May 2020. A New York Times article from November 1977 quotes Robert Shelton, then the so-called imperial wizard of the Klan, saying that Klansmen planned to attend the conference in order “to protect our women from all the militant lesbians who will be there.”, At one point in the episode, Gloria Steinem references a Mississippi delegate being the wife of the “grand dragon” of the KKK. (More on that later. Abzug comes up with a different idea. “It’s not our fight,” she argues, comparing the scattered agenda of NOW with the single-minded focus of STOP-ERA. We all went silent because she was going to throw it. When Mrs. America first debuted, much of the discussion circled around the film’s centering of Schlafly, rather than the feminist icons she opposed. Unlike a lot of the other characters with their own episodes, Bella has had a clear narrative in the series before her episode. Slate relies on advertising to support our journalism. Early on in Episode 7, the leaders of the Eagle Forum devise a plan to get conservative delegates elected to participate at the conference by establishing a new organization that they hope will act as a cover. Staying at home means that Alice and the others encounter Abzug on their own. Copyright © 2020 Ready Steady Cut. In her book Divided We Stand: The Battle Over Women’s Rights and Family Values That Polarized American Politics, University of South Carolina historian Marjorie Spruill Wheeler quotes Schlafly’s denial: “This is not only false—it is ridiculous! The series first aired on April 15, 2020. “What if we let everyone in?” she proposes. In a 2007 oral history of Abzug, her friend and fellow activist Barbara Bick recalls: I saw Bella pick up her dish—it was heaped with chewed-up chicken bones—and she was slowly rising. Granted, it is only one episode, and she shares that role with Cate Blanchett. Meanwhile, NOW struggles with internal conflict over how to handle a bipartisan event. Not to be confused by Ann Dowd (another excellent character actor, who is more suited to menacing roles, in my view). She created the pro-family movement in 1972, when she started her national volunteer organization called Eagle Forum . It’s an exciting opportunity, one that requires a lot of organizing in a short amount of time. In this episode, friction emerges between Phyllis and her eldest daughter, “Phyl” (short for Phyllis), who has recently started college at Princeton. Photos by Bill Peters/The Denver Post via Getty Images and FX for Hulu. Looking at her filmography, I was surprised to see she appeared in left than half of The Americans’ 75 episodes; the impression she left was so strong that I assumed she had been in most of the series. If you value our work, please disable your ad blocker. Phyllis Schlafly’s biography on the Eagle Forum website. Watch Mrs. America: Bella from Season 1 at TVGuide.com. While it is unclear whether Thomson and the other Eagles had expected Schlafly to appear at the Illinois meeting, it is true that newspapers wrote that she was “considered likely” to appear, touting the bout as a “Battle With Bella,” as one headline put it. You can cancel anytime. The real Costanza, who died in 2010, was a strong advocate for gay rights and one of the first politicians to argue on behalf of the National Gay Task Force within the Democratic Party, even as she herself remained closeted. Mrs. America. Photo illustration by Slate. “What’s really revolutionary about a group of people in a room agreeing with each other.” The two share a moment of recognition and agree to make the event open, with the hope that they rise out of the chaos. The real Costanza was indeed a top assistant to President Jimmy Carter and, as the show mentions, was the first woman to hold the title of assistant to the president. The political movement in the 1970s on the Equal Amendment Right for women in the US. This recap of Mrs. America season 1, episode 7, “Bella”, contains spoilers. Let’s blow it up.”. Bella responds, asking them “has she taught you to deal with the press?… has she taught you how to balance budgets?” Each time they nod. Photo illustration by Slate. But giving your child your own name isn’t selflessness — rather, the opposite. Also in 1977, O’Leary made history when she led the first-ever delegation of gay activists to the White House to meet with President Jimmy Carter’s staff. We are fast becoming the number one independent website for streaming coverage. Bella is pleased they spelled her name right on their signs (“Abzug Go Home”), and, realizing that their leader is not present, begins to challenge their perception of Phyllis. Mrs. America: Episode 7 Trailer View All Videos (1) In Theaters They agree to put lesbian rights in, but, Gloria says, “we have to keep the antis out.”. George Higgins boasted about the Klan’s influence to Florida Today, saying, “We controlled the [meeting] in Mississippi.”, Whispers about Klan involvement in the anti-ERA movement quickly spread. Kay told the AP that he targeted Schlafly because of her anti-ERA efforts and chose an apple pie because “It was in the tradition of motherhood and apple pie.”. According to The Sweetheart of the Silent Majority, Carol Felsenthal’s biography of Schlafly, the young Phyllis changed her name to Liza shortly after starting college, because “on many campuses, her mother was Public Enemy No. Mrs. America Episode 7. Midge, Bella’s former assistant, is disappointed by the committee’s lack of concern for lesbian rights. Photo illustration by Slate. In Arizona State University historian Donald T. Critchlow’s book Phyllis Schlafly and Grassroots Conservatism, he concludes that the claims of collusion “appear unfounded.”, As for Schlafly’s alleged ties to the far-right John Birch Society, these, too, have been a subject of dispute for decades, and there is certainly enough evidence to raise eyebrows. Critchlow, who’s set to release “In Defense of Populism: Social Protest and Democratic Change” this fall, helped fact check a list of claims made in “Mrs. (Makes sense, considering Waller is the creator.) Watch Mrs. America Season 1 Episode 7 Online #KEEP_STAY_AT_HOME A television show (often simply TV show) is any content produced for broadcast … Phyllis warns her that anything that ties STOP-ERA with the KKK will bring them negative attention. Hearing Betty’s argument energizes Bella, and she arrives at Gloria’s apartment with a flashlight in hand: “It’s a torch, don’t you have any imagination!” She opens up to Steinhem about her past, discussing the McGee case. The women, fights, and fallout on both sides of America's sex equality war. In reality, it’s true that the stop-ERA movement stirred up interest from members of the KKK, particularly surrounding the National Women’s Conference in Houston, even as the Catholic Schlafly could never comfortably embrace the anti-Catholic Klan. Betty went white. Phyllis, Pamela, Rosemary, Alice, and Lottie want to stop it. As the episode draws to a close, a montage shows various characters receiving the Commission’s schedule, which includes “sexual preference” on the agenda. In an interview on the podcast Making Gay History, O’Leary discussed Costanza’s decision to keep their relationship a secret, saying, “She knew, at least for much of her career, that she could never have done what she did, could never have been Jimmy Carter’s adviser, and could never have invited gay activists to the White House if anyone knew that she was gay.”, In this episode, as Phyllis Schlafly and the anti-ERA movement gain traction among Christian groups, we begin to hear rumors of their getting support from members of the Ku Klux Klan. In its seventh episode, Mrs America turns its lens towards pioneer feminist leader Bella Abzug (Margo Martindale), as she struggles to remain relevant in … A face-bandaged Phyllis leads them in creating fake organizations that mimic NOW, in order to mislead the public. She’s the “most liberated woman,” Bella tells the members of STOP-ERA, who remain faithful to their leader. A new character in this episode is Midge Costanza, a representative from the Carter administration who arrives early on to offer Abzug the position of presiding officer of the National Women’s Conference Commission. Season 1, Episode 7 … Liza tells of her repeated embarrassment on Princeton’s campus by being associated with her mother. And you'll never see this message again. In both instances, Schlafly denies any association with the groups, though her disavowal of them comes off as somewhat lukewarm, and despite pressure from Alice (Sarah Paulson), she appears hesitant to denounce them fully. While eight months pregnant, she “slept disguised about a brothel because vigilantes stalked the hotels.” The stress caused her to miscarry, and to drop the case. Phyllis is distraught, first regaling Liza with tales of her own mother’s hardworking selflessness. Site by FireCask. Granted, it is only one episode, and she shares that role with Cate Blanchett. All episodes of Mrs. America. Mrs. America. “Fear never moved mountains,” Gloria says. All contents © 2021 The Slate Group LLC. (Costanza was integral in arranging the meeting. This matches up with history, as do the show’s references to Costanza’s biography. Phyllis and her women clash … Ensconced in Tendons, Ligaments, and Muscles, The Weirdest, Most Odious Figures in Trump’s “National Garden of American Heroes”, such prominent figures as former CIA Director William Colby, William F. Buckley, and Andy Warhol, A New York Times article from November 1977, boasted about the Klan’s influence to Florida Today, In some states there were disruption attempts by the ultra-right, like the Ku Klux Klan, who still want to keep their women home washing the sheets, I let people be against ERA for the reason of their choice, The John Birch Society is doing a wonderful work, and my husband and I both joined promptly after the Chicago meeting, on many campuses, her mother was Public Enemy No. As the show depicts, Thomson was a close friend of Phyllis Schlafly’s and also served as the head of the Illinois chapter of the Eagle Forum. All of this matches up with historical records. The third episode of Mrs. America, set in July of 1972, when the contentious Democratic National Convention took place, begins and ends with scenes … I bring this up because in my own experience, despite her numerous roles, this is the first time I can remember her being the protagonist. All rights reserved. One woman pushes back especially hard on the proposition, saying, “If Betty is on that stage, it’ll send a message that we’re not welcome. This episode is a neat hat trick by writer Dahvi Waller and director Janicza Bravo. As this episode suggests, the Klan was particularly roused by the inclusion of gay and lesbian rights on the conference agenda. Please support Ready Steady Cut today. An exciting montage filled with fluid camerawork shows their efforts as they burglarize a NOW office in their quest to kill the ERA. In this episode, Rosemary Thomson steps up to bat in the effort to derail the National Women’s Conference. This, too, is true. Abzug is appointed head of the National Women’s Commission, a bipartisan event. Photo illustration by Slate. Phyllis and her women clash … You can also buy, rent Mrs. America on demand at Amazon, Hulu, Vudu, Google Play, iTunes online. ), As the episode moves along, we learn that Costanza and O’Leary are in a relationship that they feel forced to keep hidden from the public. “Does it bother you that no-one calls you radical anymore?” she asks Betty, who responds by affirming that “we’re going mainstream… that’s a good thing.” For Betty, the only issue is women’s equality, and it helps to have as many people on their side as possible. In the most recent installment of FX and Hulu’s nine-part series Mrs. America, Bella Abzug (Margo Martindale) steps into the limelight as the national face of the pro–Equal Rights Amendment movement when she is chosen by President Jimmy Carter to preside over the first-ever National Women’s Conference. All of this roughly matches up with what really happened. • What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Mrs. America’s First Three Episodes, • What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Mrs. America Episode 4, • What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Mrs. America Episode 5, • What’s Fact and What’s Fiction in Mrs. America Episode 6. (I assume that she does have at least one top-billed role, but the closest I could find is a TV show called The Millers where she’s only topped by Will Arnett). But Phyllis’s mode is shattered when she realizes that her daughter, Phyl, has started going by Liza — something it seems she was the last to know about. Episode 7 opens with a scene in which Schlafly gets a pie thrown in her face by a stranger at an event. Knell of the fight over the ERA intensifies, tensions within the Schlafly family also appear heighten! Liza tells of her repeated embarrassment on Princeton ’ s an extraordinary actor character... 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