Dale, Benjamin M., -1951, Artist, and U.S. Records League Of Women Voters. Official program – Woman suffrage procession, Washington, D.C. March 3,/ Dale. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/94507639/.
Today is International Women’s Day- and Women’s History Month! Well, which one came first? In true European fashion, it’s the day before the month. The observance that now takes place in March has its roots in labor strikes throughout the 1910s. Many strides in women’s rights resulted from their contributions to wartime efforts. Initially celebrated in February, American women organized a labor strike in 1909. Commemorating the Paris Commune, international women’s day is recognized by socialist groups across the continent the following year. However, what is most commonly considered the first official celebration takes place on March 19th, 1911. After events in Russia, the holiday’s association with communism faded it into obscurity until post-WW2 struggles for equality and recognition by the United Nations in 1977 brought it back into the mainstream. Half a century later after its initial creation, working women decided the occasion was the perfect symbol to highlight their movement for second-wave feminism.
“Women can help turn the world right side up. We bring a more collaborative approach to government. And if we do not participate, then decisions will be made without us.”― Wilma Mankiller
Mankiller: A Chief and Her People
In the United States, women’s history month is moreso an outgrowth of Women’s Equality Day– not international women’s day. The former celebrates the ratification of the 19th amendment, which granted the right to vote. The inaugural observance of women’s history week in 1978 can be credited to the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women as part of a push to promote education and research on women’s history. Recognition by President Jimmy Carter spread it nationwide. The month-long observances that now take place result from proclamation by Congress. Together, the day and month remain important occasions for solidarity and the movement for gender equity.
Youngest parader in New York City suffragist parade
American Press Association, Copyright Claimant. Youngest parader in New York City suffragist parade. 1912 May 4, May 6. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/97500068/.
“Remember the Ladies” – Abigail Adams
Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 31 March – 5 April 1776
Looking for Digital Library Resources?
-Ebooks
- Reshaping Women’s History : Voices of Nontraditional Women Historians by Julie A. Gallagher and Barbara Winslow (editors)
- Selling Women’s History : Packaging Feminism in Twentieth-Century American Popular Culture by Emily Westkaemper
- A Black Women’s History of the United States by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross
- Warriors and Wenches: Sex and Power in Women’s History by Michelle Rosenberg
- No Permanent Waves: Recasting Histories of U.S. Feminism by Nancy A. Hewitt
-Journals
- Journal of Women’s History
- Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies
- Feminist Studies
- Journal of International Women’s Studies
- Culture, Health & Sexuality
-Databases
- Contemporary Women’s Issues (Gale OneFile)
- Women and the Law (Peggy) from HeinOnline
- Gender Studies (Gale OneFile)
- Gender Watch
- Sociology, Gender Studies & Cultural Studies from SAGE Journals
-Streaming and DVDs
- Women’s and Gender Studies collection from Academic Video Online
- Hidden Figures (2017)
- Suffragette
“So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself, but for all girls and boys. I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
16th birthday speech at the United Nations
Browsing the Library
-Selections from the Children’s Section
- The Day the Women Got the Vote: A Photo History of The Women’s Rights Movement by George Sullivan
- Lifting As We Climb: Black Women’s Battle for the Ballot Box by Evette Dionne
- Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies by Cokie Roberts
- Let It Shine: Stories of Black Women Freedom Fighters by Andrea Davis Pinkney
- Rabble Rousers: 20 Women Who Made a Difference by Cheryl Harness
-Selections from the Social Justice Collection
- Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis
- Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall
- Women: Images and Realities: A Multicultural Anthology by Amy Kesselman, Lily D. McNair, Nancy Schniedewind (editors)
- Still Failing at Fairness: How Gender Bias Cheats Girls and Boys in School and What We Can Do About It by by David Sadker, Myra Sadker and Karen Zittleman (editors)
“The Latina in me is an ember that blazes forever.” – Sonia Sotomayor
speech to Hispanic law students at Hofstra University in 1996
From the Web
-In Need of Some Primary Sources?
- Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote from the National Archives
- Explore Suffragist Stories and Connections a project by the National Park Service
- Discovering America’s First Women Voters, 1800 – 1807 – an interactive exhibit at the Museum of the American Revolution
- Women’s Liberation Movement Print Culture from the Sallie Bingham Center for Women’s History & Culture at Duke University
- Suffragists Oral History Project a project of the UC Berkley Libraries
Palmer, Alfred T, photographer. Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif. Oct. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2017878909/>.
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” —Audre Lorde
The Uses of Anger: Women Responding to Racism
-Current Resources
- Women’s History Month for the Classroom
- Girlhood from the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative
- Browse former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s personal library in this digital collection
- Read these scholarly articles on women’s history from JSTOR daily
- Classroom Learning Materials – 19th Amendment
Levitas, Susan, and Martha Cooper. Worker Spoons Sweet Potato Pie Batter Into Pie Shell. -08-17. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/afcwip002262/>.
TRIVIA!
“[feminism] is nothing more than the extension of democracy or social justice and equality of opportunities to women” — Mabel Ping-Hua Lee
article in The Chinese Students’ Monthly
Collins, Marjory, photographer. New York, New York. Chinese-American girl playing hopscotch with American friends outside her home in Flatbush. Aug.?. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2017835800/>.
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