Each March, the country celebrates women of both past and present and all the accomplishments they have made. This month, we celebrate women from all walks of life. How did this all start? What did women have to do to gain recognition from the whole country?
Women have faced oppression for quite some time, with women not being granted the right to vote until 1919. Now, when it comes to the origin of Women’s History Month, it started with a “local celebration in Santa Rosa, California.
The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978,” according to the National Women’s History Museum website. The local women in the task force chose the first Sunday of the month, March 8.
After the news spread of this group of women, other states started to have weeks of celebration. In 1980, women began to lobby for national recognition. President Jimmy Carter recognized the week of March 8, 1980, National Women’s History Week.
However, that would soon turn into an entire month. “In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project External, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9, which designated March 1987 as “Women’s History Month,” according to the Library of Congress.
After all the advocacy and movement, Women’s History Month prevails. Today, we celebrate the women in the past so the women in the present can have the recognition they may not have gotten if not for this movement.
Now, women, through social media, promote the importance of this month with past and present accomplishments. As March rolls around each year, we remember the women who broke barriers, pioneered new paths and shaped the world in ways that continue to resonate today. Their stories remind us of the ongoing fight for equality and the importance of recognizing women’s contributions in March and our daily lives.
At Piedmont University, ROAR staff writers have featured women on campus; continue reading here.
