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‘MAKERS: Women Who Make America’ to air on AETN Feb. 26

Posted 26 Feb 2013

“MAKERS: Women Who Make America” will premiere on the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) Tuesday, Feb. 26, at 7 p.m. The film tells the story of how women – in pursuit of their rights to a full and fair share of political power, economic opportunity and personal autonomy – have helped shape America over the last 50 years through one of the most sweeping social revolutions in the country’s history.

Narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, “MAKERS” shares how exceptional women, both famous and unknown, made pioneering contributions that continue to shape the world today.

“MAKERS: Women Who Make America” chronicles the modern women’s movement through the perspectives of those who lived through historic milestones. The film takes its cue from the movement’s motto, “The personal is political,” and introduces the seminal events of the women’s movement by delving into the personal lives of its subjects, from those who led the fight, to those who opposed it, to those who were caught in its wake.

The film is built from first-person, intimate accounts of women who experienced this time of change, including: political figures, such as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton; author and feminist activist Gloria Steinem; opponents, such as conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly; celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey, Katie Couric, Barbara Walters and Ellen DeGeneres; business leaders, such as Linda Alvarado, president and CEO of Alvarado Construction Inc. and a co-owner of The Colorado Rockies; and many “ordinary” women who confronted the dramatic social upheaval in their own lives.

“MAKERS: Women Who Make America” recounts the seminal events in the Women’s Movement, including the publication of “The Feminine Mystique” in 1963, the battles to end discriminatory laws and practices over the following decade, and Anita Hill’s testimony against Clarence Thomas before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1991. It also tells the surprising and unknown stories of women who broke barriers in their own chosen fields — from the coal mines of West Virginia to the boardrooms of Madison Avenue. Finally, it explores today, when a new generation is both defending and questioning the legacy of their mothers.

In addition to content featured in the film, the multiplatform MAKERS.com site, which launched in February 2012, features a variety of videos and interactive content that showcase the stories of trailblazing women across the country. This landmark multiplatform video experience from PBS and AOL aims to become the largest and most dynamic collection of women’s stories ever assembled.

“MAKERS: Women Who Make America” is produced by Kunhardt McGee Productions, Storyville Films and WETA Washington, D.C., in association with Ark Media.