How Has Women’s History Touched Your Life? Tell the Ms. Blog!

For 24 years, March has been recognized nationally as Women’s History Month, celebrating the accomplishments of women and feminists in U.S. history. The theme this year is “Our History is Our Strength.”

One of our missions at Ms. is to honor pioneering women–and now it’s your turn as well.

Here’s the challenge: Send us your stories of women who have inspired you in your life, your career or in your continuing fight for women’s rights. It could be women you’ve read about, or women whose writing you’ve read. It could be a famous woman you’ve met, or someone you wish you could meet. It could be your pioneering grandmother. You can write down your story, video-record it, sing it–we want it all.

All month, we will select entries to post onto the Ms. Blog. Every entry will also be put into a raffle to win prizes ranging from T-shirts to a subscription to Ms. magazine.

Please send your submissions to ashields@msmagazine.com.

Here are some examples from Ms. magazine and the Ms. Blog of what we’re talking about–

Molly E. McCluskey wrote in Ms. about a great woman baseball player:

Five years ago I met Mamie “Peanut” Johnson. An unsure 22, I was fresh out of college, scared of the world. When my boss told me he would be profiling the first female pitcher of the men’s Negro Leagues for a television show on careers, I had no idea what to expect.

She was fearless, graceful, comfortable in herself. I wanted to be her, not because I would ever throw a curveball, but because she’d carved out her own path and made it sound so easy, so … possible .

And Loretta Ross wrote for the Ms. Blog about how the work she does now was inspired by civil rights/women’s rights activist Dr. Dorothy Height:

Much of the work I do now at SisterSong is inspired by the mentoring her generation in general, and Dr. Height in particular, offered to mine. We’re fighting again for abortion rights in the black community against these dreadful billboards here in Atlanta, proving that eternal vigilance is not just an empty phrase.

Now, it’s your turn. Let your voice be heard! Celebrate the past to help shape the future for women around the world. Become tomorrow’s pioneer.

Photo of Dr. Dorothy Height from Wikimedia Commons.