Women's History Month 2020
WHM is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture and society and has been observed annually in the month of March in the United States since 1987.
✲ March is Women’s History Month, AND this year is the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which prohibited the states from denying the vote on the basis of sex! Explore the National Archives exhibit, “Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote.” This exhibit “highlights the relentless struggle of diverse activists throughout U.S. history to secure voting rights for all American women” (National Archives Museum).
✲ Zadie Smith (b. 1975) is a British novelist, essayist and short-story writer. She is the author of the novels White Teeth, On Beauty, Swing Time, and more. Her works focus on race, religion, and cultural identity through her characters’ humor and dialogue. Her newest collection of short stories, Grand Union, was released in 2019.✲ Primatologist Jane Goodall (b. 1934) is a pioneer in the study of chimpanzees. Through her observations, Jane discovered that chimpanzees are omnivorous, make and use tools, and possess highly developed social behaviors. Her Roots & Shoots program supports young people in nearly 100 countries with projects that help people, animals and the environment. In 2002, she was bestowed the honor of UN Messenger of Peace and was recently awarded the Luxembourg Peace Prize for her many contributions toward global peace and conservation.
✲ Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin (1863-1952) was the first woman of color to graduate from the Washington College of Law. In 1904, she was appointed to a position with the Bureau of Indian Affairs by President Theodore Roosevelt. She was very active in the suffrage movement in Washington DC and with the Society of American Indians and became nationally known as a spokesperson for modern Indian women.
✲ March 8 is International Women’s Day. It’s “a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.” Visit UNWomen.org to learn about Generation Equality, how small actions make a big impact, and the data on women’s representation in society.
✲ Celebrated poet, memoirist, dramatist, actor, producer, filmmaker, and civil rights activist Maya Angelou (1928–2014) is one of the most influential literary voices of our time and a testament to the tenacity — creative, social, spiritual — of the human spirit. Listen to her recite her poem "Phenomenal Woman":
✲ Check out Time's project featuring 100 influential women from 1920 to today!
✲ Nora Lum (b. 1988) or as she’s professionally known, Awkwafina, began her career as a rapper. After a hit song on YouTube, she was recommended for a role in the film “Neighbors 2” and from there her film career moved fast. In January 2020, she became the first Asian-American to win best actress at the Golden Globes, receiving the award for her lead role in “The Farewell.”
✲ Francia Márquez led a 10-day, 350-mile women’s march to protest illegal gold mining on the ancestral land of the Afro-Colombian community. After 22 days of protests in the streets of the capitol, the Colombian government agreed to stop illegal mining in the region of La Toma. In 2018, Marquez was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize for her actions and she recently earned her law degree at a university in Colombia.
✲ Marsha P. Johnson (1945-1992) is remembered as one of the most significant activists for transgender rights and played a vital role in the Stonewall riots and the gay rights movement it launched. Johnson and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera founded STAR to help homeless young transgender women of color and drag queens. She also helped form the group ACT UP, which works to improve the lives of people living with AIDS. Last year, New York City announced plans to build a statue honoring Johnson and Rivera.
✲ Sadako Ogata (1927-2019) was a Japanese academic and diplomat and the first woman and Japanese person appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Within weeks of starting as UNHCR, she was faced with one of the biggest crises of the 1990s as over a million Iraqi Kurds fled to Iran after the Gulf War. Nicknamed “the diminutive giant,” Ogata—who stood under 5 ft. tall—gained a reputation as a fierce negotiator and was re-elected three times. She oversaw other major operations in areas including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Rwanda, helping to protect some of the world’s most vulnerable.
✲ In 1933, Frances Perkins (1880-1965) was the first woman appointed to a presidential cabinet after accepting to serve as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Secretary of Labor. She played a major role in the passage of the New Deal protecting average Americans during the Great Depression, established minimum wage and maximum work hours, and shaped federal laws regarding child labor and worker safety. She was a great defender of the American worker and paved the way for women to enter the male-dominated political world.
✲ Judith Heumann (b. 1947) is an internationally recognized disability rights leader. She was appointed by President Obama as the first Special Advisor for International Disability Rights at the U.S. Department of State, serving 2010-2017. She continues to advance the rights and empowerment of disabled people around the world, speaks at conferences and universities, gave a Tedx talk in 2018 and is building an online presence through The Heumann Perspective on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter.
✲ Left: Althea Gibson (1927-2003) was a barrier-breaker, becoming the first African American woman to not only play in but also win Grand Slam tennis tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam title in 1956 at the French Open and in 1957, she won both the Wimbledon and the U.S. National Championships. She went on to win eleven Grand Slam titles overall. Althea believed in herself and her talent fiercely and faced segregation and racism head-on because she had a “champion’s fire” that no one could dampen.
✲ Middle: Chloe Kim (b. 2000) began snowboarding at age 4. Because it was cheaper, her dad signed her up for a team instead of regular lessons. She quickly became a well known figure in the snowboarding world and even qualified for Sochi Olympics in 2014 but was too young to compete. While waiting to compete for the Pyeongchang Olympics, she became the first female snowboarder to land back-to-back 1080s! She is currently taking a break from competing to focus on her time at school at Princeton but plans to resume training this year with the intention of competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.
✲ Right: Greta Thunberg (b.2003) sparked a global movement after she was seen striking on the steps of the Swedish Parliament in August 2018 to protest government inaction on climate change. She’s spoken at rallies and conferences around the world and even traveled to New York to address a UN climate conference in 2019 in a zero-carbon racing yacht to encourage others to reduce their carbon footprint. She’s opened up about her diagnosis of Aspergers Syndrome, describing it as a “gift,” and has said that being different “can be a superpower.” Greta became TIME’s youngest ever individual Person of the Year in 2019 and was named on the BBC’s 100 Women of 2019 list.
✲ When women in the United States earned the right to vote in 1920, the lyrics of traditional hymns and patriotic anthems were changed to assert their demands for suffrage. Listen to a small sample of Smithsonian Folkways folk music created by and about these brave and daring women.
✲ Left: Despite facing discrimination as a practicing lawyer, Patsy Takemoto Mink (1927 - 2002) dedicated her life and career to advocating for gender equality and education reform. She played a major role in getting Title IX passed in 1972, which was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in 2002. She was the first woman of color and the first Asian-American woman elected to the House of Representatives, serving for 12 terms. She said she served because she “felt a responsibility not just to her constituents but also to women across the country.”
✲ Middle: Betty Ford (1918 - 2011) did not expect to become a First Lady but accepted the challenge confidently. “Forced to undergo radical surgery for breast cancer in 1974, she reassured many troubled women by discussing her ordeal openly,” thinking that if she spoke about it frankly, it would encourage others to talk about it candidly as well. She was also open about her successful battle against dependency on drugs and alcohol and helped establish the Betty Ford Center, an addiction treatment center, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage in 1982.
✲ Right: Tomi Adeyemi (b. 1993) is the author of the best-selling and Hugo Award winning book Children of Blood and Bone and its sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance. She is a Harvard University graduate with an honors degree in English Literature. She received a fellowship to study West African mythology, religion and culture in Salvador, Brazil and that is where she found the inspiration for Children of Blood and Bone! The book is currently in active development with Disney’s Fox and Lucasfilms. She was recently named to Forbes’ 2020 30 Under 30 List and her website was listed by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 best websites for writers.
✲ When women in the United States earned the right to vote in 1920, the lyrics of traditional hymns and patriotic anthems were changed to assert their demands for suffrage. Listen to a small sample of Smithsonian Folkways folk music created by and about these brave and daring women.
✲ Middle: Betty Ford (1918 - 2011) did not expect to become a First Lady but accepted the challenge confidently. “Forced to undergo radical surgery for breast cancer in 1974, she reassured many troubled women by discussing her ordeal openly,” thinking that if she spoke about it frankly, it would encourage others to talk about it candidly as well. She was also open about her successful battle against dependency on drugs and alcohol and helped establish the Betty Ford Center, an addiction treatment center, at the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage in 1982.
✲ Right: Tomi Adeyemi (b. 1993) is the author of the best-selling and Hugo Award winning book Children of Blood and Bone and its sequel, Children of Virtue and Vengeance. She is a Harvard University graduate with an honors degree in English Literature. She received a fellowship to study West African mythology, religion and culture in Salvador, Brazil and that is where she found the inspiration for Children of Blood and Bone! The book is currently in active development with Disney’s Fox and Lucasfilms. She was recently named to Forbes’ 2020 30 Under 30 List and her website was listed by Writer’s Digest as one of the 101 best websites for writers.
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