Women's History Month, usually celebrated
during March, is a period of commemorating the pioneers who have paved
the way for women's freedom, women's rights and women's lives. It serves
to remind us of the hardships our foremothers experienced and their
battle against the prejudices of society in their times. It also should
remind us that the battle is not over and that in their memory, we
should continue their hard work.
Therefore, we must ask
ourselves: What does Women's History Month mean to you?
THE
HISTORY
UMBC
PLANNING COMMITTEE
SPECIAL
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
THE HISTORY
The Beginning
As recently as the 1970's, women's history was virtually an unknown
topic in the K-12 curriculum or in general public consciousness. To
address this situation, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County
(California) Commission on the Status of Women initiated a "Women's
History Week" celebration for 1978. We chose the week of March 8 to
make International Women's Day the focal point of the observance. The
activities that were held met with enthusiastic response, and within a
few years dozens of schools planned special programs for Women's History
Week, over one-hundred community women participated in the Community
Resource Women Project, an annual "Real Woman" Essay Contest
drew hundreds of entries, and we were staging a marvelous annual parade
and program in downtown Santa Rosa, California.
Local Celebrations
In 1979, a member of our groups was invited to participate in Women's
History Institutes at Sarah Lawrence College, attended by the national
leaders of organizations for women and girls. When they learned about
our county-wide Women's History Week celebration, they decided to
initiate similar celebrations within their own organizations and school
districts. They also agreed to support our efforts to secure a
Congressional Resolution declaring a "National Women's History
Week." Together we succeeded! In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and
Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional
Resolution.
Overwhelming Response
As word spread rapidly across the nation, state departments of education
encouraged celebrations of National Women's History Week as an effective
means to achieving equity goals within classrooms. Maryland,
Pennsylvania, New York, Oregon, Alaska, and other states developed and
distributed curriculum materials all of their public schools.
Organizations sponsored essay contests and other special programs in
their local areas. Within a few years, thousands of schools and
communities were celebrating National Women's History Week, supported
and encouraged by resolutions from governors, city councils, school
boards, and the U.S. Congress.
The Entire Month of March
In 1987, the National Women's History Project petitioned Congress to
expand the national celebration to the entire month of March. Since
then, the National Women's History Month Resolution has been approved
with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate. Each year,
programs and activities in schools, workplaces, and communities have
become more extensive as information and program ideas have been
developed and shared.
History excerpt taken from the Women's
History Month Project.
