"I desire you would remember the ladies", Abigail Adams- Celebrating Women's History Month

“... I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation.”

— Abigail Adams in letter to her husband March 31, 1776

Abigail Adams was not a woman who kept her opinions to herself. She did not sit idly by in Quincy Massachusetts while her husband forged a new nation. As the wife and the mother of presidents, and her husband’s closest advisor, she had a unique opportunity to influence the decisions of how a young country would be shaped and she implored her husband to “remember the ladies.” ​Abigail​ ​like so many women was left alone​ ​to manage the farm and raise her children while her husband was in Philadelphia and England for months and years, ​all ​ in the midst of a revolution ​on her doorstep finding​ her life and her children’s lives in danger at all times. Abigail knew very well that the future of the new country would depend as much on its women as the men​ and she let her husband know that to not include women in the decisions and for them to have a real voice would set the new country on the wrong path​. It would be 144 years until women were recognized as having the right to legally participate as a citizen with the passage of the 19th amendment acknowledging women’s right to vote, and would not be until 1965 and the passage of the ​V​oting ​R​ights ​A​ct that all women were allowed to vote.

“Well behaved women rarely make history”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

American history is filled with stories of women, most unknown​,​ who made their own way, defied societal expectation and command, ​and ​bravely and independently ​pushed down doors, ignorance, harassment and even threats to their lives and well being. Women such as Mabel Ping-Hua Lee ​​who in a 1912 New York Times article​ ​was ​cited​ as “the symbol of the new era, when all women will be free and unhampered.”​ She was just 16 years old at the time and was already gaining notoriety for her work as a suffragist who had led over 10,000 in the New York suffrage parade. Mabel would go on to become the first Chinese woman to get a PhD in economics.​ Think of Maria Mitchell​, born who on Natucket in 1818. In 1847 at the age of 29 Maria discovered a comet. She was the first female astronomer in the United States, ​and was also the first American scientist to discover a comet​!​ ​Maria​ was a​ strong ​ advocate for science and math education for girls and ​became ​the first female astronomy professor.​ Then there is Charlotta Spears Bass. Throughout the first half of the 20th century Charlotta was the ​ editor of the African American newspaper The California Eagle. ​She worked as a​ journalist, ​civil rights ​activist, and politician​...she was also ​ ​the first Black woman to run for vice president of the United States ​in 1952. ​Charlotta dedicated her work to fighting what she called “The two-headed monster, Segregation and Discrimination.”  

“Where there is a woman there is magic.”

— Ntozake Shange

​Why do we study women's history? The lives of women and their role in, and impact on, our history has been overlooked for so long. We need to know women's stories, we need to look to them as models, for inspiration, to follow our dreams and convictions. We need to learn about their lives and experiences. Their trailblazing paths will show us the way forward. Ensuring that every woman's story is heard and respected let’s every little girl know there is a role model to show her that This Girl Can!

This #WomensHistoryMonth we celebrate the rule breakers, the trailblazers, the fearless and the indefatigable who said Yes! #ThisGirlCan and She Will!​

Be sure to follow us to help us celebrate. For more great stories and biographies visit The National Women's History Museum​ and PBS Videos on Women in American History

This Girl Can! Change the World...and She Did-Ruby Bridges

“Don’t follow the path. Go where there is no path and begin the trail.
When you start a new trail equipped with courage, strength and conviction,
the only thing that can stop you is you!”

— Ruby Bridges

Just imagine being only six years old and having the eyes of the entire world on you as you are simply trying to do what every six year old does each day, go to school. For Ruby Bridges,however, her entryway to the first grade and to school was literally blocked because of the color of her skin. 60 years ago this week Ruby Bridges became the first African American child to attend an all white school, the William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. As Ruby walked to enter the school, along with her brave Mom Lucille, and escorted by white federal marshals, she was met with angry white crowds shouting racial slurs and throwing things at her. That day was of course captured in Norman Rockwell’s iconic painting “The Problem We All Live With” and Ruby Bridges became the face of school integration.

Ruby and her parents didn’t give up or give in to the hatred they endured despite threats and fear, her father losing his job and shops refusing to serve them. As soon as Ruby entered the school 500 students left and never came back while other children were literally hidden away from her. She would spend the entire school year all alone in a classroom with the only teacher who would teach her, Barbara Henry who came from Boston to work in the school. In a recent interview on NPR Ms. Bridges talked about her amazing teacher "Barbara came from Boston to teach me because teachers actually quit their jobs because they didn't want to teach black kids. I remember the first day meeting her, she looked exactly like the mob outside the classroom. So I really didn't know what to expect from her,…But I remember her graciously saying, you know, come in and take a seat — and there I was sitting in an empty classroom with her for the whole year, you know, she showed me her heart. Very early on, and I realized that she cared about me, she made school fun, and ultimately I felt safe in that classroom." It would be Barbara who finally persuaded the school principal, a member of the opposition, to allow the children to meet Ruby and come together.

Ruby Bridges has spent her life as a Civil Rights icon and activist, going into schools and speaking with kids about her experiences and about racism which she tells them is a “grown up disease”. “None of our babies are born into the world knowing anything about disliking one another, or disliking someone because of the color of their skin.” she says “Babies don't come into the world like that. And so if babies are not born that way, then we as adults are the ones who are passing it on to them, and we have kept racism alive.”

Ms. Bridges has just published her third book “This is Your Time” inspired by recent social justice activism by young people throughout the country and the world. In the book she tells her own story, speaks to her work through her Ruby Bridges Foundation, explores the parallels between the 1960s and this moment while sending out a call to action to this generation to act for change. The book was published on the same day she lost her Mom and in a social media post she paid tribute to her - “Today our country lost a hero. Brave, progressive, a champion for change. She helped alter the course of so many lives by setting me out on my path as a six-year-old little girl. Our nation lost a Mother of the Civil Rights Movement today. And I lost my mom. I love you, and am grateful for you. May you Rest In Peace. Lucille Bridges (August 12th, 1934 - November 10th, 2020),"

The short and iconic walk that Ruby Bridges took over 60 years ago changed so much for so many as schools became integrated. As powerful as those steps were, however, one small girl’s extraordinarily brave act remains a very powerful and necessary inspiration for us all to take steps to keep us all moving forward not backward for social justice and equity for all children.

"Dream with Ambition" This Girl Can! Believe

"But while I may be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last because every little girl watching tonight sees that this is a county of possibilities."

Kamala Harris, Vice-President-Elect, November 7, 2020

How many times in the last 24 hours have we seen and heard little girls, ALL little girls, looking wide-eyed and smiling at images and footage of the soon to be Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris. How many little girls of color looked at their Mom and Dad with expressions of glee and exclaiming, “She looks like me!” The Vice-President elect has made history not only as the very first woman to be elected to higher office-about time wouldn’t you say!, but also the first woman of color and the first woman of South Asian descent -lots of glass shattered this week!

Kamala Devi Harris, a daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants has been elected to the second highest office in the land 100 years after the passage of the 19th amendment enfranchised women. Wearing. white, as she made her first public appearance as Vice-President elect, in honor of all who came before, the Kamala Harris spoke directly to every little girl and made it clear in NO way would she be the last to make history. It is also 55 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act abolishing the disenfranchisement of Black Americans. 35 years ago Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to run for Vice-President and she was asked repeatedly throughout that 1984 campaign if she was “tough enough” for the job. Whether with a stiletto or Jack Purcell All Star, Kamala Harris has kicked a door down, a very big door, and in so doing she has shown EVERY girl that Yes! This Girl Can!…and She Will! Congratulations Madame Vice-President-elect.

“And to the children of our country, regardless of your gender, our country has sent you a clear message: Dream with ambition, lead with conviction. And see yourselves in a way that others may not simply because they’ve never seen it before, but know that we will applaud you every step of the way.”

~Kamala Harris, Vice-President elect , November 7, 2020