"Every girl, no matter where she lives, deserves the opportunity to develop the promise inside of her."
— Michelle Obama
Women's History Month is an annually observed celebration of contributions women have made throughout history in the United States. The observance of Women's History Month originates from a weeklong celebration organized by school districts in Sonoma, California in 1978. Throughout the week, dozens of schools participated in various festivities, including presentations, essay contests, and parades. In the years following, school districts and organizations across the country commemorated the weeklong dedication to women's history. As the celebration became widespread, the National Women's History Project organization campaigned for the national recognition of women. This proved to be successful: to correspond with International Women's Day, the week of March 8th was declared Women's History Week by president Jimmy Carter in 1980. Seven years later, congress passed an additional law, designating March as "Women's History Month."
This guide, and the accompanying physical display in Bird Library, was curated by graduate student McKenzie Rybka (M.M.'23 in vocal performance, College of Visual and Performing Arts). McKenzie works in the Libraries' Department of Research and Scholarship with our collections team.
Also check out the SU Libraries' Blog for additional highlights from the display