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Women's History Month is an annual declared month in the United States that highlights contributions of women to events in history. March has been set aside as this month. In Canada, this month is celebrated in October and coincides with the celebration of Persons Day which is October 18.
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History
The event traces its beginnings to the first International Women's Day in 1911.
In 1978, the school district of Sonoma, California, participated in Women's History Week, an event designed around the week of March 8 (International Women's Day).
In 1981, responding to the growing popularity of the event, Congress passed a resolution making Women's History Week a national holiday. This week was well received, and soon after, schools across the country began to have their own local celebrations. The next year, leaders from the California group shared their project at the Women's History Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. Other participants not only became determined to begin their own local Women's History Week projects but also agreed to support an effort to have Congress declare a national Women's History Week.
Also in 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) co-sponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a "Women's History Week." Soon, other state departments of education began to encourage celebrations of National Women's History Week as a way to promote equality among the sexes in the classroom.
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Alaska, New York, Oregon and other states developed and distributed curriculum materials in all of their public schools, which prompted educational events such as essay contests. Within a few years, thousands of schools and communities got on the bandwagon that was National Women's History Week, with the support and encouragement from governors, city councils, school boards, and the U.S. Congress. Congress legally expanded the focus to a whole month in 1987. Since then, the National Women's History Month Resolution has been approved with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
Impact Today
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The popularity of women's history celebrations continues to spread as more people are becoming aware of the impact females are having. A President's Commission on the Celebration of Women in History in America recently 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. Some of the groups promoting this interest are state historical societies, women's organizations, and groups such as the Girl Scouts of the USA.
2008 Theme
The theme of National Women's History Month for the year 2008 is visionary female artists. Honorees will be selected based on their impact in various media from pottery to sculpture to any type of modern art.
See also
References
- Snodgrass, Mary Ellen (1996). Celebrating Women's History. Gale Reference Group, 15-17.
- President and Fellows of Harvard College (1994). A History of Women. Storia delle donne in Occidente, 527-547.
External links
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Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 23 October 2008, at 15:39.
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