Why do we celebrate Women's History Month during the month of March?
In 1987, an act of Congress designated the month of March as Women's History Month. During the month, schools and communities celebrate the achievements of women throughout history. Although the official observation of Women's History Month is relatively recent, it owes part of its inspiration to an event called National Women's Day first celebrated in 1909.
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Mamie "Peanut" Johnson challenged the traditional role of female athletes by entering the men's Negro Major League in 1953. She was the only female pitcher and only one of three women to play in the...
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Educator Mary McLeod Bethune began a school for needy African Americans in 1904 with $1.50, five students, and a passion to teach. Her school became Bethune-Cookman College and currently has over 2...
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Susan and Elizabeth formed the National Woman Suffrage Association, open to women only. Their goal was to add an amendment to the Constitution that allowed women to vote. They published newspapers and...
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At 19 months old, Helen Keller suffered an extreme fever that made her sight and hearing impaired. She became a national spokesperson for the physically disabled by writing books, giving speeches, and...
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By the 1890s, four states had given women the right to vote and many states would follow. The women's rights movement was beginning to have an impact. The 20th century saw more progress towards women...
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By the 1890s, some states began giving women the right to vote. Though Susan and her followers were making progress, she knew there was a lot of work to be done. Before she died in 1906 she said...
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In 1928, Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. In 1931, she broke the men's and women's altitude record, flying at 18,415 feet above ground. As the first president of...
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Although women had achieved the right to vote, inequality still existed in education and employment opportunities. During World War II, women, out of necessity, began working at jobs that were...
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In 1955, Rosa Parks sat in the "white only" section of a bus in Alabama as a way to tell the world that she was opposed to segregation. This inspired a boycott of the bus system that lasted over a...
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Unfortunately, women were expected to leave these positions when men returned from World War II. The women who continued to enter the workforce during and after the war, found they were not paid as...
