The month of March is known as Women’s History Month. It recognizes the contributions of women in history and society. It is celebrated during March in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
In the United States, Women’s History Month began in 1911 with the first International Women’s Day: Mar. 8. State Departments of Education encouraged celebrations of Women’s History Month as a way to promote equality among the sexes throughout the country.
“I’ve lived long enough that I have seen the change from the majority of women being stay-at-home homemakers,“ English teacher Kathleen Greenlee said. “In my teen years, many women just re-entered the workforce, which was odd to us at that point in time…. So I’ve kind of seen both ends of the spectrum and all the changes that it has brought with it. And really to me, it’s just everyday women stepping out and making those changes one at a time.”
Since 1988, U.S. presidents have issued annual proclamations designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. They have celebrated women like Harriet Tubman, Annie Oakley, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks and Maya Angelou.
“Women that go out of their comfort zones just for the sake of their cause, that are different and stand out, are the type of women that fight,” sophomore Elan Doyle said.
Both Parks and Angelou are considered feminists in the public’s eyes. Being a feminist is supporting women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality.
Rosa Parks is well known because she refused to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger, spurring the Montgomery boycott and other efforts to end segregation. Maya Angelou is known as a poet and award-winning author known for her acclaimed memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and her numerous poetry and essay collections. Angelou also taught students about literature and her knowledge at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
“I will not stay in company where races, no matter who they are, are belittled; I will not take it; I will not sit around and accept dehumanizing other human beings’,” Angelou said to Marianne Schnall, according to the Huffington Post, Nov. 25. “If you decide to do that in small ways, and you continue to do it, finally you realize you’ve got so much courage.”
Recently, a President’s Commission on Women in History sponsored hearings in many parts of the country. The Women’s Progress Commission will soon conduct hearings to promote interest in preserving areas that are relevant in American women’s history.
“We’re still operating within a system in which women are not given equal pay for equal work,“ said Greenlee. “I would like for that to be taken out of the equation, to not consider someone based on their gender but what they bring to the table.”
– By Jacqueline Condrey
