Her Story: A Preface
Photo from Pexels by Andrea Piacquadio.
Peyton Impola
Women have had a profound impact on all of human history. From Joan of Arc, to Abigail Adams, to Harriet Tubman, women have contributed to some of the most significant events in history. However, oftentimes when we pick up a textbook, all we find is recollections of the past through a male lens. Women’s history–especially the history of queer women and women of color–is often reduced to certain eras that are palatable for all. Historians and teachers are eager to talk about the passage of the 19th Amendment, or the importance of women like Rosa Parks during the Civil Rights Movement, but are less enthusiastic about informing us about the struggles women endured, or the militant actions they took to ensure their equality.
Thankfully, March is Women’s History Month, in which we can reflect on and learn from the contributions women have made to our history. Women’s History Month has its roots in a weeklong celebration of female contributions to history, society and culture by the school district of Sonoma, California in 1978. It didn’t take long for this idea to catch on, and communities, organizations, and schools across the nation began to celebrate. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. The very next year, Congress followed in suit, passing a resolution that established a national celebration. By 1986, the National Women’s History Project had successfully petitioned Congress to expand the celebration to the entire month of March.
International Women’s Day was first celebrated on March 8, 1911. The global celebration of the economic, social and political contributions of women is celebrated by numerous nations around the world. The United Nations has sponsored this celebration since 1975, and originally cited its reason for doing so as “to recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality and development of women; and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security.”
This Women’s History month, we will be exploring the stories of four influential feminists, in addition to the monthly feminist feature. Stay tuned to read the weekly updates to “Herstory” to learn about the contributions these women have made throughout history, and the impacts they have left on our society.
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