Tomorrow is a big day.
Many of us will join together to stand for human rights,
our civil liberties, and our diversity.
Women's marches and activism go back a long way. If you know your history, you know that at one time women were discouraged from attending college because it was thought their health would be affected by the challenge of rigorous study. The American Association of University Women, started in 1881, published their first report, "Health Statistics of Women College Graduates," which disputed the then popular belief. The group, now called AAUW with men and women members, still remains a crusader for women's and children's education and equity.
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| Image courtesy of https://goo.gl/images/tBk6G0 |
If you know your history, you know the Suffragette movement brought about the right for women to vote in the U.S. in 1920. You know that women were assaulted and arrested for demanding their rights during the Presidential inauguration in 1913, and that the 19th Amendment was passed only when President Woodrow Wilson reversed his opposition and 36 states ratified the amendment.
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| image courtesy of https://goo.gl/images/8qGN4D |
If you know your history, you know that women at the end of the 19th century rose up to protect birds -- an unimportant action, some might think. But five million birds were being killed each year just to adorn the hats of fashionable women. Minna B. Hall and Harriet L. Hemenway started small tea parties (interesting that tea parties show up in our history repeatedly) to encourage women not to buy hats with bird feather decorations. Their parties grew into the Audubon Society, which campaigned for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which continues to protect birds (think cell towers and wind turbines) to this day.
Women are not the only ones who are activists, but they often step up when the need is great.
What are you doing to stand up for your beliefs?
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A timely reminder! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Pat. Thanks for reading this posting. We forget sometimes what has happened before us.
DeleteIt's such a shame that it took women 100 years of marching and protesting to get the right to vote. We've fought for and won so many fights for important things and we can't stop now. I did not know about the beginnings of the Audubon Society, how cool is that!
ReplyDeleteYes, Jean, we do need to stay vigilant, don't we! It's all of things we have done that brought us to where we are today. But how easily it can slip away. Thank you for reading this post!
DeleteThanks for a timely reminder of women's progress on this day of all days. I needed to be reminded and uplifted.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Jan. Thank you for being a thoughtful reader.
DeleteHappy to have marched today in the great tradition of our foremothers!
ReplyDeleteYes, Oakland was an amazing experience with so many different people marching for their beliefs! Now to postcards.
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