March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate and elevate the contributions and accomplishments of women in all their diverse representations, now and throughout history.
Women’s History Month was first celebrated with a week, not a month, in 1981. But, by 1987 Congress passed a series of resolutions, asking and authorizing the President to declare March as Women’s History Month every year. Every U.S. president since 1988 has issued a proclamation of that declaration.
Here are just a few of the many resources available to elevate this special month on websites and in social media, using hashtag #WomensHistoryMonth.
- Women’s History Month - http://womenshistorymonth.gov
This incredibly rich site includes audio and video archives, images, and even resources for teachers. It is a joint project of the following, each of which also has its own rich resources: - The Library of Congress
- National Archives and Records Administration
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- National Gallery of Art
- National Park Service
- Smithsonian Institution
- United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- The National Women’s History Museum - https://www.nwhm.org/
Offering a wide selection of online resources as they work to build a physical home, the NWHA “...researches, collects and exhibits the contributions of women to the social, cultural, economic and political life of our nation in a context of world history.” - The Lesbian Herstory Archives - http://www.lesbianherstoryarchives.org/
Home to the world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians and their communities, the physical site is based in Brooklyn, NY but the online catalog is extensive and broad...and endlessly interesting! - The American Library Association - https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2017/02/21/at-least-18-more-womens-history-month-programming-ideas/
Programming suggestions from the ALA to celebrate Women’s History Month in your own community, many of which have local libraries that will participate in these activities.
How will you or your chapter celebrate Women’s History Month? Let us know by tagging us in your social media posts on Facebook (facebook.com/pflag) and Twitter (twitter.com/pflag), so we can work together to elevate the achievements of lesbian, bisexual, transgender, gender-expansive, queer, straight and cisgender women from yesterday and today.
