Women’s History Month

This March marks the 31st anniversary of the Women’s History Month, the month to honor and celebrate women’s contributions in American history. It has been celebrated officially since 1988 by Presidential proclamation.

Women’s History Month began as the Women’s History Week when a school in Santa Rosa, California decided to celebrate women’s contributions in history. They decided to do it in the week of March 8th because March 8th is the International Women’s Day. Other schools across the United States began to organize similar events to honor women’s achievements. The week-long events eventually grew to a month-long celebration. In 1988, the Congress passed legislation to designate March as Women’s History Month. According to its website, “Since 1995, each president has issued an annual proclamation designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”

“Visionary Women: Champions of Peace & Nonviolence” is this year’s theme for Women’s History Month. As stated by the National Women’s History Alliance, “This year we honor women who have led efforts to end war, violence, and injustice and pioneered the use of nonviolence to change society.” Each year, the National Women’s History Alliance also selects honorees whom they honor at the end of the month in Washington, DC. Activist and author Kathy Kelly, founder of Women for Women International Zainab Salbi, and the co-founder of Esperanza Peace and Justice Center Graciela Sanchez are some of the honorees of this year.

It is essential to take time to remember and honor women’s contributions in history because we can’t go forward without knowing our past. Being vocal about women’s achievements in history also reminds our society that women are strong. The more we learn about the achievements of women from different backgrounds who lived in the past, the more we respect and believe in women today.

More information:

Womenshistory.org Womenshistory

https://womenshistorymonth.gov/

https://nationalwomenshistoryalliance.org/2019-theme-and-nomination/