"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman." Virginia Woolf

Friday, March 3, 2006

National Women's History Month

Ok, so some of you guys know what I study in school and it won't be a surprise that I support National Women's History Month, a project sponsored by the National Women's History project.


In the spirit of non-political correctness, some of y'all are probably thinking "well, what about white male history month, har har har."

Newsflash, guys, that's the only thing that's been taught in school, since oh, the beginning of public education system in America. It's only in the last twenty years that women's history has even been considered a "valid field." It's only in the last 20-25 years that women have been included in American history books regarding their contributions to this nation.

Newsflash! My grandmother, who is still living, was born before women had the right to vote in America. In fact, all of my grandparents were. There have only been 2-3 generations American women that have been able to vote. It's only been within the last 80-120 years that women in this country have had the right to divorce, to retain property on their own, have custody of their own children.

Prior to this period, women had the same legal rights as children, which weren't very many. Despite this, they campaigned for child labor reforms, temperance laws, prison reform laws, property rights, etc. They had no legal recourse but they still fought for changes. Declaration of Sentiments

Newsflash! The only women that were mentioned in American history books were married to rich and powerful white men! Abigail Adams, Eleanor Roosevelt. Nice chicks, but what about some women that mattered just because of what they did?

So I celebrate the lives of these American women. I celebrate their lives because they are the reason I have a say in this country. They are the reason I am able to seek higher education and am eligible for the same grants, fellowships, and scholarships that men are. They are the reason I am not accused of renouncing my womanhood just because I seek knowlege, that I will not be denied tenure in a university simply because I am a woman, that I can serve on a jury or buy property on the beach, that I will never be owned by my husband.

They may not have died on a battlefield, but that does not mean they did not give their lives for the sake of their daughters.

Susan B. Anthony Center of Women's Leadership

National Museum of Women's History

"Votes for Women:" Suffrage Pictures, 1850-1920

Alabama Women's Hall of Fame

NAWSA Collection at the Library of Congress

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