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Some Women's History Month History
By
Jone Johnson Lewis,
Your Guide to Women's History.
In 1911 in Europe, March 8 was first celebrated as International
Women's Day. In many European nations, as well as in the United States,
women's rights was a political hot topic. Woman suffrage — winning the
vote — was a priority of many women's organizations. Women (and men)
wrote books on the contributions of women to history.
But with the economic depression of the 1930s which hit on both sides
of the Atlantic, and then World War II, women's rights went out of
fashion. In the 1950s and 1960s, after Betty Friedan pointed to the
"problem that has no name" — the boredom and isolation of the
middle-class housewife who often gave up intellectual and professional
aspirations — the women's movement began to revive.
With "women's liberation" in the 1960s, interest in women's issues
and women's history blossomed.
By the 1970s, there was a growing sense by many women that "history"
as taught in school — and especially in grade school and high school —
was incomplete with attending to "her story" as well. In the United
States, calls for inclusion of black Americans and Native Americans
helped some women realize that women were invisible in most history
courses.
And so in the 1970s many universities began to include the fields of
women's history and the broader field of women's studies.
In 1978 in California, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County
Commission on the Status of Women began a "Women's History Week"
celebration. The week was chosen to coincide with International Women's
Day, March 8.
The response was positive. Schools began to host their own Women's
History Week programs. The next year, leaders from the California group
shared their project at a Women's History Institute at Sarah Lawrence
College. Other participants not only determined to begin their own local
Women's History Week projects, but agreed to support an effort to have
Congress declare a national Women's History Week.
Three years later, the United States Congress passed a resolution
establishing National Women's History Week. Co-sponsors of the
resolution, demonstrating bipartisan support, were Senator Orrin Hatch,
a Republican from Utah, and Representative Barbara Mikulski, a Democrat
from Maryland.
This encouraged even wider participation in Women's History Week.
Schools focused for that week on special projects and exhibitions
honoring women in history. Organizations sponsored talks on women's
history. The National Women's History Project began distributing
materials specifically designed to support Women's History Week, as well
as materials to enhance the teaching of history through the year, to
include notable women and women's experience.
In 1987, at the request of the National Women's History Project,
Congress expanded the week to a month, and the U.S. Congress has issued
a resolution every year since then, with wide support, for Women's
History Month. The U.S. President issues each year a proclamation of
Women's History Month.
To further extend the inclusion of women's history in the history
curriculum (and in everyday consciousness of history), the President's
Commission on the Celebration of Women in History in America met through
the 1990s. One result has been the effort towards establishing a
National Museum of Women's History for the Washington, DC, area, where
it would join other museums such as the American History Museum.
The purpose of Women's History Month is to increase consciousness and
knowledge of women's history: to take one month of the year to remember
the contributions of notable and ordinary women, in hopes that the day
will soon come when it's impossible to teach or learn history without
remembering these contributions.
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LGBT Woman of the Week
March 29th - 31th
Irshad Manji
Manji was born in
Uganda, but moved to
Canada at age three, when
Idi Amin exiled all
South Asians from that country. She mentioned in
her book that she had a turbulent time as a youth,
including an incident when her father chased her
around the house holding a knife. She studied
history at the
University of British Columbia, and became the
first humanities student to win the
Governor-General's Gold Medal for the top
graduate.Between
1998 and
2001, she was the host and senior producer of
Q Files on
Citytv. She was also the host and producer of
In The Public Interest on
Vision TV, and was involved in the televised
debate series Friendly Fire.
Manji is the current President of
VERB, a Canadian channel aimed at young people and
specializing in diversity. She hosts the Big
Ideas program on
TVOntario, and is a writer-in-residence at the
University of Toronto.
Manji was awarded
Oprah Winfrey's first annual
Chutzpah Award for "audacity, nerve, boldness
and conviction". She is also a recipient of the
Simon Wiesenthal Award of Valor. Manji has
spoken at a number of forums, including the
International Women’s Forum Leadership Conference
and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference
on Technology, Learning and Culture. She is also
involved in the international public speaking
circuit.
Manji's partner is
Michelle Douglas, a Canadian activist.
Manji has been a strong critic of the
treatment of women, gays, lesbians and
Jews in
Islam. She does not wear the
hijab or
chador, suggesting that it is only the wives of
Muhammad who are required to wear the garments.
She has also been critical of
Muslim attitudes towards
Israel and the
Palestinian leadership itself.
She has argued for a renewed
questioning of historical interpretations of the
Qur'an, and advocated the concept of ijtihad,
"the Muslim tradition of independent thinking".
Manji is a friend of controversial writer
Salman Rushdie, and has received numerous death
threats. The windows of her apartment are fitted
with bullet-proof glass.
March 20th - 28th
Karla Drenner
Karla Drenner, born in Charleston,
West Virginia, has lived and studied in various regions throughout
the United States. Along with her 2 children she has made her home
in DeKalb County, Avondale Estates, and in addition to her duties in
the General Assembly, she is an adjunct Professor at Devry
University where she teaches Environmental Science, Principles of
Ethics and Leadership and Motivation. Dr. Drenner is also the owner
and President of an Environmental Safety and Health consulting firm.
She has published a book entitled, One: The True Story of Politics,
Prayer and the Power of One. Representative Drenner is also an
accomplished marathoner.
First elected to the Georgia House
of Representatives in 2000, Representative Drenner ran an issue
driven campaign concentrating on education reform, environmental
concerns and improving local neighborhoods. Upon election, she went
right to work on those issues passing HB 393 which encourages
citizens to practice carpooling by protecting carpool databases from
public disclosure. As a result of the bill and efforts of the Clean
Air Campaign, Georgia saw a 100 percent increase in the
1-87-RIDEFIND database.
Representative Drenner has served
or serves on the following boards: Keep DeKalb beautiful, Emory
Northlake Regional Hospital, Scottdale Childcare and Family
Development Center, DeKalb County Greenspace Program and the Georgia
Women’s Democratic Caucus. Karla was the recipient in 2001 and 2002
of the Georgia League of Conservation Voters, Environmental
Leadership Award. She was also named in 2001 a “Diva” by
Business-to-Business magazine.
Dr. Drenner is a member of several
professional associations including the National Caucus of
Environmental legislators, the Health Physics Society, the Air and
Waste Management Association and the National Safety Council. She
utilizes her experience to provide a voice for sensible and
responsible environmental policy within her membership on the
Natural Resources and Environment Committee. She is also an active
member of the Health and Human Services and Industrial Relations
Committees. In addition to environmental issues, Representative
Drenner is an advocate of poverty, education and human rights.
March 13th - 19th
Audre Lorde
American novelist, poet and essayist, who was born as
Audrey Geraldine Lorde in New York City. Lorde graduated from Hunter
College (1959) and Columbia University (1961). In 1962 she married
Edward Rollins. They had two children: Elizabeth and Jonathan, but
divorced in 1970. Lorde also wrote under the name Rey Domini. She
died of breast cancer in St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
Amerikaanse schrijfster, dichter en essayist, die is geboren in
New York City als Audrey Geraldine Lorde. Lorde studeerde af aan het
Hunter College (1959) en Columbia University (1961. In 1962 trouwde
ze met Edward Rollins. Ze kregen twee kinderen, Elizabeth en
Jonathan, maar scheidden in 1970. Lorde schreef ook onder de naam
Rey Domini. Ze overleed aan borstkanker in St. Croix op de
Maagdeneilanden.
The first cities (1968), Cable to rage (1970), From a land where
other people live, Coal, The black unicorn (1978), The cancer
journals/Het kankerdagboek (1980/1985), Zami: a new
spelling of my name/Zami: een nieuwe
spelling van mijn naam (1982/1985), Sister outside (1984), Burst of
light (1988), Turning the beat around: lesbian parenting (1986)
March 6th - 12th
Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin
Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin are an
American lesbian couple known as two of the most
influential feminist and gay-rights activists.
Martin and Lyon have been leaders of the lesbian and
feminist movements since the 1950s. They met in
Seattle in 1950, and by 1952 their friendship had
evolved into a life partnership that has lasted for
more than 50 years. In 1953, they moved to San
Francisco, California where, in 1955, they formed
the homophile organization the
Daughters of Bilitis (DOB). Lyon was the first
editor of DOB's newsletter, The Ladder, beginning in
1956.
Martin and Lyon have been active
in the
National Organization for Women (NOW) since
1967. Martin is the author of Battered Wives
(1976) and the co-author of Lesbian/Woman
with Lyon (1972). The Lyon-Martin Women's Health
Services, founded in San Francisco in 1979, is named
for them.
In 1989, Martin and Lyon joined Old Lesbians
Organizing for Change. In 1995 Martin and Lyon were
named delegates to the White House Conference on
Aging. Martin by Senator Dianne Feinstein and Lyon
by Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. In 2003 filmmaker
Joan E. Biren released a documentary film on the
couple, No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del
Martin and Phyllis Lyon.
On February 12, 2004, Martin and
Lyon were granted a marriage license, the first in a
series of marriage licenses issued to same-sex
couples in the United States by various local
governments in 2004. The license was granted in
violation of California state law by the City and
County of San Francisco in an act of civil
disobedience.
The marriages were voided on
August 12 of that year. Ms. Lyon reacted, saying:
"Del is 83 years old and I am 79.
After being together for more than 50 years, it is a
terrible blow to have the rights and protections of
marriage taken away from us. At our age, we do not
have the luxury of time." - Phyllis Lyon
March 1st - 5th
Ellen Degeneres
American actress and comic, born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ellen
started her career as an emcee at a local comedy club in New
Orleans. She played the (leading) part of Ellen in the series
'Ellen'. When she came out in 1997 as a lesbian both in the series
as well in real life the popularity of the series diminished.
Chrysler withdrew its commercials! The 'Puppy episode' in which
Ellen had her coming-out received an Emmy-award. Ellen had a
relationship with actress Anne Heche. TV: Open House, Laurie
Hill, Ellen
(1994-1998, as Ellen Morgan), The Ellen show (2001-2002, as Ellen
Richmond)
Film: Coneheads (1993), Wisecracks (1993), Mr. Wrong (1996),
Dr. Dolittle (1998, voice), EDtv (1999), Goodbye lover (1999), The
Love letter (1999), Finding Nemo (2003, voice of Dury) Theatre:
Ellen DeGeneres in Concert (2002) Books: My point...and I do
have one, Love, Ellen: A mother/daughter journey (by her mother
Betty Degeneres) CD: Taste this Video: The beginning
(2000)
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