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President Jimmy Carter Signs Proclamation Creating National Women’s History Week,” February 27, 1980, White House Staff Photographers Collection, Series: “Jimmy Carter's Presidential Photographs,” 1/20/1977-1/20/1981, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/135843911.

Hiya History Lovers,

Belated Happy St. Paddy’s to all who celebrate and a very happy Women’s History Month!

The designation of March as Women’s History Month began in 1978 in Santa Rosa, California with five women, led by twenty-something high school history teacher, Molly Murphy McGregor. Appalled by the lack of women in history textbooks — abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman wasn’t once mentioned — McGregor led the charge for a “Women’s History Week” celebration to correspond with International Women’s Day on March 8th. Events included presentations at dozens of area schools, a student essay contest, and a parade in downtown Santa Rosa.1

What started as a one-off took off like a rocket. The next year, communities across the country organized their own women’s history celebrations. In February 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 2–8, 1980 as National Women’s History Week.2

It would take seven more years of lobbying by historians and activists led by the National Women’s History Project (NWHA), the non-profit organization co-founded by McGregor, before Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9 proclaiming March 1987 as Women’s History Month.3

Before the month slips away, I thought I’d do a roundup of some of the powerhouse women I’ve written about here over the past two years. Some of my favorites are Belle Da Costa Greene, J.P. Morgan’s personal librarian and the developer of the magnificent museum collection on display today; Josephine Baker, international song and dance sensation, film actress, cabaret owner, WW2 French Resistance spy, and civil rights activist; and the brave women and girl garment workers who labored in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory. Their walk-outs and protests before and after the tragic 1911 fire led to many of the workplace safety measures we enjoy today.

This Thursday, March 26th I’ll be the guest of the Catsbury Park Book Club in Asbury Park, NJ. The author meet-and-greet will include a discussion of IRISH EYES, the book club pick for March. The event is ticketed; all proceeds support the medical care, keeping, and adoption of the rescue cats. The fun starts at 6pm!

Keep up with all my events here.

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