On the cusp of Women’s History Month and to round out Black History Month, we share portraits of some of the innumerable Black women who have worked hard for the rights we now hold dear, who have shared their artistic talents, and who have helped to nurture this experiment in democracy that is still a work in progress.
Tag: Women’s History
Thank You, Rush Limbaugh, For My Feminism
Rush Limbaugh made it clear: Women who desire power and self-determination weren’t real women at all.
Luckily, most of the values I learned—hard-work, guts, grit and kindness—far outweigh Rush Limbaugh’s disturbing messaging about how to be a woman in rural America, but it was a deep sexism that fueled the birth of my feminism.
Today in Feminist History: Day Six of the Suffrage Hike (February 17, 1913)
The nine members of the suffragist Army of the Hudson continue on day six of their hike from Newark, New Jersey to Washington, D.C.
Today in Feminist History: The Progressive Woman Suffrage Union Opens Office in Manhattan (February 9, 1908)
Mrs. Boorum Wells, Executive Committee member, said: “But let not the public think too little of this movement because of its humble beginning. The beginning was made in England in even a smaller room than this. And now look at us over there! The parties are making advances to us to get our influence before they openly take up our cause. But we will make no alliances with political parties. Do men all join one party? They do not. They vote on different sides. So shall we. All we want is the right to vote. and we shall get it.”
“The Doctors Blackwell” Recounts the Journey of the First Woman in Medicine
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to receive a medical degree, in 1849. Becoming a doctor as qualified as any man was a noble ideological quest.
“The idea of winning a doctor’s degree gradually assumed the aspect of a great moral struggle,” she wrote, “and the moral fight possessed immense attraction for me.”
Today in Feminist History: Ethel Byrne’s Force-feedings Continue (January 30, 1917)
Byrne has been in custody since January 22, after being convicted of violating Section 1142 of New York State’s Penal Code by furnishing information on birth control to patients at what was America’s first and only birth control clinic.
“The War Widow”: A Tribute to Brave Women
No work of mine has so completely rolled together my passions—the history, untold stories and style of the 1940s, hardboiled fiction, strong women of grit and adaptability, and the impacts of conflict on everyday people—as this novel, ‘The War Widow.’
Smithsonian’s “Sidedoor” Podcast Examines How Ms. Made Wonder Woman a Feminist Icon
Ms. Magazine aligned itself with the Amazonian fighter for peace and justice from its inception, featuring the red-, white- and blue-bedecked heroine on the cover of its first full issue. Five times, to date, Wonder Woman has graced this magazine’s cover, linking her inexorably with women’s empowerment and feminism.
Today in Feminist History: Birth Control Advocate Ethel Byrne is Force-fed (January 27, 1917)
Byrne is currently serving a 30-day sentence for violating New York State law by distributing contraceptive information at what was America’s first—and so far only—birth control clinic, until it was raided and closed on October 26, 10 days after its opening.
The Forgotten Reproductive Justice Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King
Dr. King described family planning as “a special and urgent concern.”
The contrasts between the conversations taking place in the public sphere now versus then are striking. Dr. King would likely be horrified by the state’s oversized role in determining how and when women can control their reproductive health.