Library: Women's History Month: Welcome

Background

How Native American Women Inspired the Women’s Rights, Suffrage Movement
Originally published by the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission (WSCC). The Six Nation Haudenosaunee Confederacy had, and still have today, a family/governmental structure based on female authority. And today, the Six Nations clan mothers continue to have the responsibility to nominate, hold in office, and remove their chiefs.
International Women's Day - March 8th
#EmbraceEquity.
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #EmbraceEquity.
National Women's History Musuem
"If we want our girls to benefit from the courage and wisdom of the women before them, we have to share the stories." -- Shireen Dodson
PBS: Unlearning History: The Women’s Suffrage Movement
"...all women in the United States were guaranteed the right to vote. FALSE...What’s not often acknowledged in classroom textbooks and curriculum is the reality that not all women gained the right to vote. While the previously ratified 15th amendment prohibited Federal and State governments from denying the right to vote based on color, race or previous servitude, nothing in the U.S constitution and no federal laws explicitly prohibited discrimination on the basis of color, race and sex. Thus, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, and other women and men of color did not see their voting rights ensured until the 1964 Civil Rights and 1965 Voting Rights Acts, more than 40 years later. "
Women's March Foundation
Women’s March Foundation is a women-led movement bringing together people of all genders, ages, races, cultures, political affiliations, disabilities, and backgrounds to affirm our shared humanity and pronounce our bold message of resistance and self-determination.
National Womens History Museum: collection of virtual exhibits and learn about trailblazing women, past and present
(History.com) Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society and has been observed annually in the month of March in the US since 1987.

Profiles

31 Days of Revolutionary Women (South Seattle Emerald)
"...a series of daily essays by local authors documenting, honoring and celebrating powerful women who inspire us in South Seattle and beyond."
20 Native American Women You Should Know
In the annals of Native American history, there have been some formidable women who fought fearlessly in battle, served as committed leaders, undertook dangerous journeys and saved lives.
NASA’s Hidden Figures: The Unsung Women You Need to Know
For decades, female NASA employees dubbed "human computers" helped the United States excel in the space race, but yet their critical contributions remained largely unacknowledged, not only outside NASA but within it.
Nobel Prize: Amazing Women Who Changed the World
- The Nobel Prize and Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded to women 58 times between 1901 and 2020. Only one woman, Marie Curie, has been honored twice, with the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics and the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. This means that 57 women in total have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2020.
RAD Pacific NW Women and Femmes, PART 1
- An illustrated collection honoring PNW women by Larissa McCartney.
Women's Biographies
Explore some of the historical pioneers and contemporary newsmakers that continue to impact the world and below are a few select biographies presented.

Forward Into Light: How Women Are Reshaping Politics and Power -- (National Women's History Museum)

Photo Courtesy of She Should Run.

Patsy Mink -- An attorney and politician from Hawaii. She was the first and Asian-American woman to serve in Congress. Title IX law was renamed the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act due to her leadership.	Dolores Huerta -- An American labor leader and civil rights activist. Huerta helped organize the Delano grape strike in 1965 in California and was the lead negotiator in the workers' contract that was created after the strike.
Stacey Abrams -- An American politician, lawyer, and voting rights activist, who founded Fair Fight Action. The first woman and African American woman to hold positions in state and national politics. In 2021, Abrams was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts in the 2020 election.	Wilma Mankiller -- Wilma Pearl Mankiller was an American Cherokee activist, social worker, community developer, and the first woman elected to serve as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation.

Pauli Murray -- Jane Crow: The Little Known Story of Pauli Murray (video: 11:45) -- The "documentary tells the story of Pauli Murray, an American civil rights and women’s rights activist. [The]...project brings to light an extraordinary legacy of courage and conviction through Murray’s lifetime commitment to justice and her profound influence on some of the most famous leaders of her time, including Thurgood Marshall and Eleanor Roosevelt. In addition to publishing important civil rights essays that continue to resonate, Murray practiced law and in 1977, became the first African American woman to become an Episcopal priest. Also, The Dynamic Woman Who Shaped Ruth Bader Ginsburg (National Trust for Historic Preservation).

Judy Heumann -- Activist Judy Heumann led a reimagining of what it means to be disabled."Disability only becomes a tragedy when society fails to provide the things we need to lead our lives — job opportunities or barrier-free buildings, for example," she said. "It is not a tragedy to me that I'm living in a wheelchair." (NPR.org)

Library Collections

The library has lots of films and books you can watch and read online. Here's a tiny sample. Ask a librarian if you need help finding more.

American Women Speak: an Encyclopedia and Document Collection of Women's Oratory [2 Volumes] by Mary Ellen Snodgrass
Publication Date: 2016
examines influential American women activists and their speeches on vital issues. Each entry outlines the speaker's motivation and provides examples of their speeches in context, supplying information about the setting, audience, reception, and lasting historical significance.
The A to Z of the lesbian liberation movement still the rage by Myers, JoAnne
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Publication Date: 2009
ebook: A Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian Liberation Movement: Still the Rage is a comprehensive overview and resource guide for one of the most invisible social political movements: the Lesbian Liberation Movement.
Black Feminist,
feature-length documentary film surrounding the double-edged sword of racial and gender oppression that Black women face in America. [53 minutes]
A Black women's history of the United States
Publication Date: 2020
'...far beyond a single narrative to showcase Black women’s lives in all their fraught complexities."
The heroines who risked their lives to defeat Nazism by Independent Digital News and Media Limited
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Publication Date: May 8, 2020
Britain set up its Special Operations Executive (SOE) in 1940 to undertake intelligence gathering, subversion, and sabotage, and to assist resistance movements in Europe's occupied nations, and for the first time, women were encouraged to apply.
Her Voice Carries
shares the stories of quietly heroic women, told through their own words and the street art of international mural artist, Sarah Rutherford. [60 minutes]
The Madame Curie Complex by Julie Des Jardins
Publication Date: 2010
"dismantles the myth of the lone male genius, reframing the history of science with revelations about women’s substantial contributions to the field. "
Picture a scientist by Sharon Shattuck
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Publication Date: 2020
Picture a Scientist: This documentary chronicles how through courage, perseverance, and solidarity, women in the sciences have overcome brutal harassment and institutional discrimination in their fields. [98 minutes]
Rights Remembered : A Salish Grandmother Speaks on American Indian History and the Future by Pauline R. Hillaire; Gregory P. Fields (Editor)
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Publication Date: 2016-05-01
"An autobiography of a contemporary Native American woman that combines her own life experiences, tribal oral traditions, and the written record of relationships between the United States and the native peoples of the Northwest Coast to provide a Native view of recent history"--Provided by publisher.
A Thousand Women
" Four female artists from USA, Uruguay, and Brazil develop works inspired by stories of other women. By interweaving art and activism, A THOUSAND WOMEN sheds light on the many faces of feminism today [84 minutes]
Women's Rights Movement by Jennifer Joline Anderson
Publication Date: 2013
traces the history of the women s rights movement in the United States, including the key players, watershed moments, and legislative battles that have driven social change.
Wonder Woman Unbound by Tim Hanley
Publication Date: 2014
"complicated heroine... adds new dimensions to the world’s most beloved female character."

Exhibits & Events

Virtual Events: Her Story: How Women and Girls Transformed the World!
Join the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative for virtual workshops for children ages 3-6 and their adult companions. Learn about art, history, and more!
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by American Women's History Initiative
Girlhood (It’s complicated)
(National Museum of American History) commemorates the anniversary of woman suffrage by exploring the concept of girlhood in the United States, but also how girls changed history in five areas: politics, education, work, health, and fashion.
National Women's History Museum (NWHM) Presents!
Women's History Events at the National Women's History Museum (NWHM) .
Women's History Month Event Highlights
(Library of Congress) joins national museums in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history.
National Women's History Museum: A collection of virtual online exhibits
Learn about trailblazing women, past and present

Changes to our website are underway this fall. We are here to help you with any questions.

Women's History Month

Background

Profiles

Library Collections

Archives

Exhibits & Events