Celebrating women around the world
Following the month of February, March is National Women’s History Month. Deerfield Beach High gets to celebrate the achievements of women all around the world. Although, March only marks the beginning. Women who were leaders, activists, and role models have the right to be celebrated all throughout the year but, this month is dedicated to entail attention from people all around the country. It is no question that women have built up a foundation that is unbreakable.
National Women’s History Month began in 1978 in Santa Rosa, California, when a group called the
Education Task Force of Sonoma Country Commission on the Status of Women led by Molly Murphy
McGregor; she was a teacher in Santa Rosa who planned to throw a Women’s History Week celebration during the week of March 8th to align with international Women’s Day. However, the celebration was not meant to be more than a week. This resulted in people across the country began to organize their own women’s history celebrations.
One woman named Greta Lerner, a historian, educated women at a 15-day conference on women’s
history that was taught at Sarah Lawrence College. After the conference, many women’s activist groups began sparking up and working together to fight for a national women’s history week. These people were successful because in 1980, February President Carter announced the first proclamation that declared March 2nd to March 8th as National Women’s History Week.
Just seven years later in 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, which
was dedicated to honoring and preserving women’s history, Congress announced March as Women’s History Month. Which allowed people to outwardly express gratitude for the women who shaped the nation today.
“If I had to pick one woman who stands out to me, I would choose Selena she is an amazing singer and she made waves when she was alive,” says Deerfield Beach High School junior Dalila Galarza.
Many historical figures have shaped society as we know it; people like Maya Angelou who was a
memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist, Rosa Parks who was a civil rights activist and is best known for
the Montgomery Bus Boycott, Aretha Franklin, an American singer and songwriter who paved the way
for black artists, Patsy Takemoto Mink, the first Asian American woman to be elected to congress, Ruth
Bader Ginsburg and many more.
There are even more women in today’s age like Beyoncé, a mother of three, singer-songwriter and businesswoman who has called upon inspiration for more than a decade now. Others that should be recognized are Michelle Obama, an American author and attorney who also served as first lady of the United States, Margot Robbie, a rising actress and film producer, and others who topped the charts with creativity and power. These women have all fought for their place and paved the way for young minds like the students at DBHS and growing women for years to come.
“I think we have come extremely far from where we began when it comes to women however there is
still a lot we achieve. I would say my favorite female figure would be Amelia Earhart because not only
was she the first woman to fly solo across the Pacific she was also the only person with enough passion for what she did to do something very risky and she encouraged people to follow their passion no matter how crazy it may sound to other people,” says DBHS junior Esther Louis.
From racial equality to educational rights, and from a small holiday to an entire month, women have
prepared the way for many generations to come. Throughout history, they have risked their lives and
fought for what they believed in. They went through numerous battles and got shut down repeatedly
just to change the way the world was handed to them. Now people can proudly honor and acknowledge the women who made it all happen during this March for Women’s History Month.
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