MARCH IS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.”

The Trailblazers: l Kathryn Bigelow: First woman to win an Oscar for Best Director in 2010. l Shirley Chisholm: First African American congresswoman in 1968. l Sandra Day O’Connor: First woman on the Supreme Court in 1981. l Aretha Franklin: First woman elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. l Sally Ride: First American woman in space in 1983. l Edith Wharton: First woman to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1921.

Since 1987, the U.S. has formally recognized March as National Women’s History Month. This year, the theme for the month, as announced by the National Women’s History Alliance, is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” Share the wonder of women with these powerful facts and stories.

National Women’s History Month traces its roots to March 8, 1857, when women from various New York City factories staged a protest over poor working conditions.

Women From Georgia Who Made A Difference:

l Susie Baker King Taylor: Born into slavery in Midway, she escaped and ended up becoming the first federally funded teacher in the state of Georgia and one of the first African American nurses in the U.S. to administer battlefield care to soldiers.

l Lucy Craft Laney: The founder and principal of the Haines Institute in Augusta, Laney dedicated her life to educating African Americans. She was born in Macon.

l Helen Douglas Mankin: A lawyer, legislator and politician born in Atlanta, she was the first woman elected to Congress from Georgia.

l Juliette Gordon Low: Born in Savannah, she was the founder of Girl Scouts of the USA.

l Alice Harrell Strickland: The first female mayor in Georgia was born in Duluth.

l Jessye Norman: The American opera singer was born in Augusta.

l Hazel Raines: Born in Waynesboro, she was one of 25 American women pilots recruited to serve as a ferry pilot when the U.S. entered WWII, and she became a recruiter for the Women’s Army Corps and the Women’s Air Force.

l Carrie Steele Logan: One of the first Black landowners in Atlanta, she founded an orphanage for Black children.

l Grace Towns Hamilton: From Atlanta, she was the first African American woman elected to the Georgia General Assembly.

l Wyomia Tyus: This American sprinter held the world record for the 100-metre race from 1964-65 and 1968-72 and was the first person to win the Olympic gold medal twice. She was born in Griffin.

l Alice Walker: From Eatonton, she wrote more than 30 works of poetry, novels, short story collections and nonfiction. Sources: census.gov; nationaltoday.com; womenshistory.org; deloitte.com; history.com; georgiawomen.org; biography.com

Women and girls outpace men and boys in the global book reading divide. 44% of girls at age 15 said reading was one of their favorite hobbies, while only 24% of boys said the same.

Stories Worth A Read l Shaking Things Up: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World by Susan Hood (HarperCollins) l A is for Aretha by Leslie Kwan and Rachelle Baker (Penguin Random House) l Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp Revealed the Ocean’s Biggest Secret by Jess Keating and Katie Hickey (Tundra Books) Meet Marie Tharp, who was the first person to map the Earth’s underwater mountain ridge, even though women weren’t allowed on research ships. l Little People, BIG DREAMS by Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara l Love Is Loud: How Diane Nash Led the Civil Rights Movement by Sandra Neil Wallace and Bryan Collier (Simon & Schuster) This nonfiction picture book shares the story of Diane Nash, a civil rights leader who worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis. She took command of the Nashville Movement for sit-ins to convince the mayor to integrate lunch counters and went on Freedom Rides to show support for integrating bus travel. l Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids, Nancy K. Mays and Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (HarperCollins) Learn about Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women elected to Congress and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas, in this picture book autobiography. l Mae Makes a Way: The True Story of Mae Reeves, Hat & History Maker by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Andrea Pippins (Crown Books for Young Readers) Mae had a dream to make one-of-a-kind hats, but the path for a Black female designer was unclear, so she left her home in the South to study at the Chicago School of Millinery. Read her story about becoming a successful entrepreneur in this book.

This book pairs the story of fourteen revolutionary young women with a noteworthy female artist to depict her life. Learn about Mary Anning, Ruby Bridges, Frida Kahlo, Mae Jemison and more.

Spotlighting 26 Black women in music, this book celebrates the contributions of different women whose music encouraged joy and self-love and trailblazed paths for creatives in an ABC board book format.

This series introduces children to artists, trailblazers and dreamers who made a big impact on the world around them. The series features books about Helen Keller, a deaf and blind disability rights advocate, Mae Jemison, the first Black woman in space, Amanda Gorman, a young poet and activist, and many more.