Women’s History is women’s right. It is an essential, indispensable heritage
from which we can draw pride comfort, courage, and long range vision
—Gerda Lerner, Women’s History Pioneer
Dear Friend,
The National Women’s History Alliance (NWHP) has celebrated the heritage of women’s history for over 36 years. We offer inspiration and support for the recognition of women—women activists, women artists, women scientists, and women who want to rise and find their voice.
When women know their history, they draw power and inspiration from those who came before. Recognizing this, NWHP advocates against the tragic erasure of women and actively celebrates them.
We are proud of our role in promoting women’s history, and we are grateful for your generous support.
We have exciting projects in the works:
- Organizing new Women’s History Alliance to unite women’s history efforts
- Working to designate Women’s Equality Day as a federal holiday
- Promoting the Inez Milholland Centennial and the women’s rights movement. (Please indicate on response card your request for a FREE 14-minute DVD, INEZ MILHOLLAND ~ FORWARD INTO LIGHT –about Inez Milholland and the Woman Suffrage Movement.)
- Initiating an endowment to strengthen the NWHP for the future
- Preparing for the 2020 Woman Suffrage Centennial national celebration
This, of course, is in addition to our regular work in serving as the national clearinghouse for multicultural American women’s history.
We need your help as we widen our path in the 21st century, and continue to write women back into history. Please donate today.
With much appreciation,
Molly Murphy MacGregor
Executive Director and Cofounder
National Women’s History Project
PS.: Soon we will announce the 2017 National Women’s History Month Honorees who are Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business.
Our History
In 1980, we were a group of women who noticed that women were absent from our texts. No more than 3% of the content was devoted to women. Girls had few role models. Girls and boys and many adults assumed women did nothing important. This perception needed to be addressed. We convinced Congress and the White House of the need for our nation to celebrate and recognize women’s role in history on an annual basis. As a result of our efforts, the week of March 8th (International Women’s Day) was officially designated as National Women’s History Week. In 1987, we led the successful campaign to have the entire month of March declared National Women’s History Month.
We mobilize and unify the national celebrations of Women’s History Month in March each year by choosing an annual theme. We promote a multicultural women’s history perspective by honoring women of diverse cultural, ethnic, occupational, racial, class, and regional backgrounds.
Today our aim is as clear and simple as it was 35 years ago: to teach as many people as possible about women’s role in history.
Every year we send out 30,000 Women’s History Gazettes and distribute thousands of women’s history posters, celebratory materials, books, videos, and curriculum resources. Our website has millions of visitors a year. Additionally, we answer thousands of phone requests, e-mails and letters each year from students, teachers, reporters, and other interested individuals requesting information. We work with schools, colleges, companies, churches, clubs, communities, government offices, unions, publishers, and the media.
Our staff has conducted women’s history training sessions and women’s historic site tours in 42 states. We have trained over 30,000 teachers and federal program managers and have delivered over 2,500 speeches. We created the national clearinghouse to provide multicultural women’s history information, materials, referrals, and strategies. This service also provides easy access to women’s history performers, organizations, museums, and historic site.
We have designed, developed, and produced more than 200 multicultural women’s history resource materials, such as videos, speeches, posters, celebratory items, guides, program kits, and curriculum units.
In 1995 and 1998, we created and led national campaigns to celebrate and recognize the work of women in expanding and enriching our democracy. In 1995, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of women in the United States winning the right to vote and in 1998 we celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Women’s Rights Movement. These successful campaigns resulted in tens of thousands of local, state, and national celebrations. In 2005, we will celebrate the 85th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment and the 25th anniversary of the women’s history movement.
Our staff has responded to more than 200,000 requests for information from students, teachers, authors, historians, librarians, corporate and government agency executives.
Our website to serves as the digital clearinghouse for multicultural women’s history information.
We have been honored to work with the President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History. Our Executive Director was appointed by the White House to serve on the Congressional Commission on Women’s Historic Landmarks. Our work has been recognized by a wide-range of educational organizations including the National Educational Association, the National Association for Multicultural Education, the Association for Gender Equity Leadership in Education, and the American Educational Research Association.
We are retelling history. And changing the future. We believe that knowing women’s history gives all of us—female and male—the power and inspiration to succeed. We believe that Our History Is Our Strength!
Please support our work of “Writing Women Back into History” Click here to donate now!