The Spring Edition
The Hilight
Volume _______ Issue VI THE NEWSPAPER OF CULLMAN HIGH SCHOOL March 24, 2022 510 13th St. Seniors: __ School Days til Graduation! Cullman, AL 35055
Writing women back into history Anna Beth Mauldin, Staff Writer
Every March, Women’s History Month provides us the opportunity to celebrate the millions of influential women that have battled injustice to build and reshape our nation. Throughout history, despite discrimination and hardship, women have strived for equity, for all women, in all communities across our country. Generations of Native American women were caretakers of the land and continue to fight for their ground and climate change. Black women fought to end slavery and advocated for civil rights. Suffragists fought for their voting rights, resulting in the passing of the 19th Amendment, which stated that no one could be denied a vote on the basis of sex. To this day, women and girls continue to carry forward the mission of the heroines that came before them, ensuring that our daughters have the same opportunities as our sons. Women and girls continue to lead groundbreaking civil rights movements for freedom and social justice
so that every individual can realize the true promises of America. Although women have always been a part of history, for centuries their contributions and work were overlooked: early texts excluded women altogether, except for the accounts of powerful women such as queens. Historians-most of which were men-often saw history as being mainly shaped by males and their accounts of struggles and triumphs. The switch from this pattern began in the 20th century, beginning with small steps toward change. Women did not appear in history books the same way men did. Simply put, historians overlooked large amounts of their work including diaries, letters, books, and other materials, and overlooked their significance to society. A few exceptions include Eleanor Flexner and Mary Beard, their works reflecting the struggle of women in history and the fight for voting rights. However, while women’s liberation
movements accumulated strength, feminists pondered against the persuasive lack of women’s stories in their history books. Molly Murphy MacGregor-graduate of one of the newly founded women’s studies programs at California’s Sonoma State University in the 1970s- asked this same question. As current as 1970, the influence of women in history was a nonexistent topic of discussion in all public schools. At the high school at which she taught, administrators attempted to cancel a class which she taught women’s history, arguing that there was not enough material to cover a six-week instruction course. Textbooks that did cover basic women’s history buried it-for example, one text stated that Congress gave women the right to vote without mentioning the work of suffragists that fought for that right. “The history of women in the United States seemed to be written in invisible ink,” MacGregor reflected in a 2020 PBS documentary. MacGregor was urged to action. In the late 1970s, she put together presentations of the role of women throughout history, sparking curiosity in students. Newfound interest was found in the world-changing stories of eminent figures such as Harriet Tubman and Rachel Carson. But when MacGregor discovered that pupils rarely checked out the tiny assortment of women’s history books available in their schools, she took action by joining the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women. To address this situation, the school district of Sonoma, California strived for change, including MacGregor. The true celebration of Women’s History Month was constructed off of a weekend festival celebrating women’s contributions to society, organized by the school district of Sonoma, California. Beginning in 1978, presentations were delivered to dozens of schools and a number of students competed in a “Real Woman” essay contest and a
parade was held in Santa Rosa. This movement rapidly spread across the country as other communities created their own version of this celebration. In 1980, a consortium of women’s groups triumphantly lobbied for national recognition. President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8th, 1980 as Women’s History Week in February 1980. Following Presidents continued to claim a Women’s History Week each March up until 1987, when Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating the month of March as Women’s History Month. While prominent figures such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, Rosie the Riveter, and Betty Friedan are frequently associated with Women’s History Month, there are numerous remarkable women who deserve to be recognized as well. Consider inventor/ actress Hedy Lamarr, scientist Dian Fossey and mathematician Katherine Johnson, astronauts Sally Ride and Mae C. Jemison, authors Maya Angelou and Amy Tan, and directors Kathryn Bigelow and Ava Duvernay. All throughout history, women have made significant contributions to all areas of life. Women have influenced our culture and the progression of research, math, science, photography, literature, music, and so much more. This Women’s History Month gives us the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of countless women who have paved the way for societal progression. While we commit to the fight women of the past have strived to achieve, let us realize the American vision of a more equal society where everyone has the chance at pursuing the American Dream. In doing so, we advance health and safety, economic growth, and the security of our nation.