Thursday, Nov 20, 2025 7:00 PM

Location:
Inman Park Church Sanctuary
1015 Edgewood Avenue, NE
Atlanta, Georgia 30307

The first major biography of Jeannette Rankin, a groundbreaking suffragist, activist, and the first American woman to hold federal office.

A Cappella Books proudly welcomes women’s historian and author Lorissa Rinehart to the Inman Park Church Sanctuary for a special evening in celebration of her new book, “Winning the Earthquake: How Jeannette Rankin Defied All Odds to Become the First Woman in Congress.” Rinehart will appear in conversation with Michele Ozumba, President of the Jeannette Rankin Foundation.

This event is free and open to the public. A Cappella will have copies of the book available for purchase at the venue.

About the Book

“Few members of Congress have ever stood more alone while being true to a higher honor and loyalty.”
—President John F. Kennedy on Jeannette Rankin

Born on a Montana ranch in 1880, Jeannette Rankin knew how to ride a horse, make a fire, and read the sky for weather. But most of all, she knew how to talk to people, how to convince them of her vision for America. It was this rare skill that led her, in 1916, to become the first woman ever elected to the House of Representatives.

As her first act, Rankin introduced the legislation that would become the 19th Amendment. Throughout her two terms in 1916 and 1940, she continued to introduce and pass legislation benefiting unions, protecting workers, and increasing aid for children in poverty. In 1941, she stood tall as the sole anti-war voice in Congress during WWII, advocating for pacifism in the face of tragedy and stating that you can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.

A suffragist, feminist, peace activist, workers’ rights advocate, progressive, and Republican, Rankin remained ever true to her beliefs—no matter the price she had to pay personally. Yet, despite the momentous steps she made for women in politics, overcoming the boys club of capitalists and career politicians who never wanted to see a woman in Congress, Jeannette Rankin’s story has been largely forgotten. In “Winning the Earthquake,” Lorissa Rinehart deftly uncovers the compelling history behind this singular American hero, bringing her story back to life.

About the Author

Lorissa Rinehart is a women’s historian, author, and speaker who brings the past to life with fresh urgency. Her work dives into the powerful crossroads of women’s history, politics, and war, uncovering the stories that have too often been left out of the spotlight. She’s the author of “First to the Front” and “Winning the Earthquake.”

Each week on her Substack and podcast, “The Female Body Politic,” Lorissa unpacks today’s headlines through the lens of 250 years of women’s political power in America. She holds an MA in Experimental Humanities from NYU and a BA in Literature from UC Santa Cruz, and is passionate about making history feel prescient, inclusive, and impossible to ignore.

About the Conversation Partner

Michele Ozumba was the President of the Women’s College Coalition from 2015-2019. A history and political science graduate of Douglass College, with a Master’s degree in city and regional planning from Rutgers, Michele has more than 20 years of successful leadership experience with organizations focused on the empowerment and well-being of women and girls. She was recognized as one of FAST Company’s Extraordinary Women of 2013. Previously, she headed up the San Francisco-based membership organization Women’s Funding Network, a global network of women’s foundations with a membership of 166 women’s foundations in 27 countries. Before that, she served for over a decade as President and CEO of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention. Prior to that, Michele served as a Program Director of the Division of Public Health for the GA Department of Human Resources and as a research associate for the Georgia School-Age Care Association.