March is Women’s History Month, a nationwide celebration that dates back to 1981.
Congress passed a public law requesting that the president — at the time, Ronald Reagan — enact a Women’s History Week beginning on March 7, 1982. The week was later stretched into a month starting in 1987, after Congress was successfully petitioned by the National Women’s History Project to do so.
Since 1995, each president has issued a proclamation declaring March to be recognized as Women’s History Month in order to “celebrate the contributions women have made to the United States and recognize the specific achievements women have made over the course of American history in a variety of fields,” according to the Library of Congress’ website.
In his own proclamation on Monday, President Joe Biden said the month offers a special opportunity to “shine a light on the extraordinary legacy of trailblazing American women and girls who have built, shaped, and improved upon our Nation.”
“…Let us honor the accomplished and visionary women who have helped build our country, including those whose contributions have not been adequately recognized and celebrated,” Biden’s statement continued. “And let us pay tribute to the trailblazers from the recent and distant past for daring to envision a future for which no past precedent existed, and for building a Nation of endless possibilities for all of its women and girls.”
The president called on all Americans not only to observe the month, but to celebrate International Women’s Day — which takes place on March 8 — with “appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.”
The month is usually celebrated with parades, speeches, panels, and other in-person gatherings; due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Library of Congress has partnered with the Smithsonian museums, the National Archives, the National Parks Service, and more to ensure a socially-distant month of educational events.
Here are some ways for you to virtually participate in Women’s History Month:
Impressionist Muses: The Women Who Inspired Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, and Cassatt
The Smithsonian often holds online courses for those interested in art history, with some programming in March centered on Women’s History Month.
One such course is this Wednesday’s virtual class hosted by art historian Natasha Schlesinger, who plans to explore the female muses of some of the world’s most famous male artists.
“Schlesinger delves into some of the significant paintings of these subjects, as well as their stories and complex and intimate relationships with the artists,” the event’s website reads. “If impressionism reflected on the “now” of a new society and dawning century, its muses were the creative — and often unrecognized — forces behind the important innovators of the period.”
The class is $20 for members, and $25 for non-members.
“From the Suffrage to the New Millennium” Virtual Exhibit
With most museums still closed to the public in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the National Parks Service is hosting a month-long, virtual exhibit that aims to honor the “centennial of the passage of the 19th amendment in Congress.”
The 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote, was passed on June 4th, 1919.
The exhibit itself will be housed in the Federal Hall National Memorial, and will feature 44 women across 10 decades, as well as a timeline of the women’s suffrage movement. No reservation or payment is required.
Young Learners Program Meet Alice Paul
For those with a theatrical flair hoping to learn about key players in the Women’s Rights movement, the National Archives has the perfect event prepared.
On March 18, the National Archives’ Young Learners Program will offer kids and their parents the opportunity to virtually meet suffragette Alice Paul — or at least, the live-action version played by actor Taylor Williams of the American Historical Theatre.
Interested viewers can head to YouTube for a meet-and-greet with “Paul,” a “suffragist, founder of the National Women’s Party, and promoter of the Equal Rights Amendment.” There will be a question-and-answer portion following a performance.
“My Name Is Sara” Film Screening and Panel Discussion
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will host a Women’s History Month event on March 18 to share the true story of Sara Guralnik, a young Jewish woman from Poland who survived the Holocaust.
The museum will host a live conversation about the movie “My Name is Sara,” based on Guralnik’s life, in partnership with Guralnik’s own son and granddaughter. The conversation will touch on “the strength and determination of one young woman to survive the Holocaust and the challenges that women faced then—and still encounter today in war-torn societies,” per the event website.
The discussion will be moderated by Ann Hornaday, a film critic for The Washington Post. Registration for the event and an advance screening of the movie are free.
