Press Release: Billboard Critic’s Choice Artist Meghan Cary, who has been revered for her innate ability to unite others through her powerful words and music, has revealed details for one of her most ambitious initiatives to date. Aptly named The River Rock Project, after Cary’s women’s empowerment song “River Rock”, her music video and documentary will celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment (which granted women the right to vote) while addressing the imminent need for our society to come together in the pursuit of equality.
“Women’s right to vote was not won easily. They, too, faced many struggles and unforeseen obstacles including the Spanish Flu,” said Cary. “But these women were brave enough to speak their Truth— even into a society that might not want to hear it. The ‘River Rock Project’ celebrates their strength and is a reminder to us all of the importance of raising our voices against injustice, no matter what barriers we may face.”
At the center of “The River Rock Project” is the Justice Bell (also known as the “Women’s Liberty Bell”) and its role in calling attention to women’s suffrage. The Justice Bell, which is housed at The Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge Park, PA, is a replica of the Liberty Bell that was commissioned by Pennsylvania suffragette Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger. In 1920, the bell was transported on the back of a modified pickup truck across the U.S. to raise attention for the fight. Its clapper was chained to its side to “remain silent” as a symbol of how women were being silenced by the inability to vote until the passing of the 19th Amendment later that year when it was proudly — and loudly — rung for the first time.
“I decided to make a music video to celebrate this fight we fought and won 100 years ago this year. And when I heard the story about the Justice Bell, about the women who used it as a call to action to ‘unchain our voices’, I realized that this symbol of justice for all had to be a part of it,” said Cary. “We earned that unchained voice…let’s use it.”
“The River Rock” music video and documentary will be filmed and produced by an all-female crew and feature the actual Justice Bell, as well as the direct descendants of Katharine Wentworth Ruschenberger and generations of inspiring women working together to create change. Cary is also inviting women from around the world to “lend their voices” to the project by submitting at-home videos of themselves singing along with “River Rock,” which will be edited into a universal chorus of women raising their voices together.
For more information about “The River Project” visit https://meghancary.com/the-river-rock-project.
For more information about Meghan Cary, visit www.Meghancary.com or on social at @meghancarymusic.
