More Than A Magazine, A Movement
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: 15 women who were key figures in the Montgomery bus boycott; the U.S. Postal Service features writer Toni Morrison on a new forever stamp; what motivates women to consider running for office, and the systematic barriers they face; and more.
Since the news broke about Pat Schroeder’s death on March 14, there have been thousands of tributes, obituaries, tweets and social media postings in her honor. They described her as a maverick, pioneer, feminist champion, trailblazer, fearlessly independent politician, and an icon and role model for many elected officials, men and women. We agree—but for the feminist movement, Pat Schroeder was much more. On March 22, 2023, the House of Representatives will honor Schroeder with a moment of silence. In honor of this one minute—60 seconds—of silence, we’ve compiled 60 stories from people who knew and admired Pat Schroeder.
“Pat was best known for being a fierce advocate for women. And many young women asked her for advice. She told them to make sure women were in rooms where decisions were being made. And if they were not, to kick the door down and hold the door open for those behind them.”
Friday, March 10, is Harriet Tubman Day, which marks the 110th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s passing on March 10, 1913. Last year, we celebrated Tubman’s bicentennial birthday with Ms. magazine’s Tubman 200 project. Today, we continue in the celebration of our Black feminist hero as we recognize the latest Harriet Tubman Monument. Designed by artist Nina Cooke John, Shadow of a Face opened to the public yesterday in Newark, N.J., in Harriet Tubman Square, renamed from Washington Park on Juneteenth of 2022.
The new Harriet Tubman monument replaces a statue of Christopher Columbus, which was removed in 2020. Newark’s arts and cultural affairs director Fayemi Shakur said the city’s choice to replace of a symbol of conquest with “an ideal figure for democracy and freedom” is part of a larger project of healing.
Facing little to no support from outside systems like the government or other publicly funded programs, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ have developed creative ways to look out for each other and ensure the wellbeing of every member. This system, often referred to as “community care,” has also been a core tenant of the abortion access movement.
Growing up in a low-income Latinx community in Los Angeles, I witnessed firsthand what community care is really about.
The first recorded “Woman’s Day” was observed across the United States on Feb. 28, 1909. The following year, according to the International Women’s Day history timeline, “more than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination.”
I think we can all agree that it’s more than a little frustrating that more than a century later, women across the world are still demanding equality in many of the same areas. Here in the United States, the Equal Rights Amendment—first drafted and introduced in Congress in 1923!—still hasn’t been formally published as the law of the land.
On Sunday, March 4, the world lost a fierce, funny, tireless organizer for disability rights with the death of Judith Ellen “Judy” Heumann.
If you want to work for change, take her advice: “When other people see you as a third-class citizen, the first thing you need is a belief in yourself and the knowledge that you have rights. The next thing you need is a group of friends to fight back with.”
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) launched her campaign for Debbie Stabenow’s soon-to-be-vacated seat Senate seat; a new “democracy caucus” aims to expand access to voting, part of a movement in statehouses to counter election deniers; donors have pledged an additional $55 million in funding for the Smithsonian’s proposed American Women’s History Museum; a preview of RepresentWomen’s second annual Democracy Solutions Summit; and more.
Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.
March is a very popular month for new books—and this year is no exception!
In the richest nation in the world, it shouldn’t be this difficult to make ends meet for yourself and your family.
As a society, we can choose to prioritize parents and their families. And that starts by implementing a guaranteed income program that will empower Black families and women everywhere. The fight for guaranteed income has deep roots in the civil rights movement—and it’s long overdue.
50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION (Alfred A. Knopf) will be released in September and we couldn’t be more excited to share it with our readers—and with the entire world.
