On March 8 we celebrate International Women’s Day. This year’s theme is #Choosetochallenge. The IWD website challenges people to create videos that celebrate women and their varied voices. We can learn from these videos and explore more resources to learn about and commemorate women on March 8-or maybe through the month of March…or all year!
Women throughout history have chosen to challenge the status quo because they care passionately about justice for all. We celebrate them. Throughout 2020, LPF has highlighted, through our blog series, the vital work women do in the church and the world. We call these women “Champions of Change.”
Lutheran Peace Fellowship also has rich women’s resources, available at our website. One powerful document is the Women’s Path of Hope, authored by Lily Wu.
Even though 2020 was the centennial year for the passage of Women’s Suffrage, we know that, sadly, not all women-or men-found it easy to make progress in gaining rights.
Recent blogs in the “Forgotten Heroine” series told about some notable Asian and Black women. Women such as Mabel Lee and Sojourner Truth pushed the United States to achieve broader civil rights for citizens, especially women.
Forgotten Heroines – Native American and Latina
Here are three more women, this time Native American or Latina, who challenged their communities to be true to the ideal that “All (Americans) are created equal”:
- Zitkala-Sa, “Red Bird,” 1876-1938, was a Yankton Dakota Sioux woman who supported women’s rights and civil rights for Native Americans, including the 1924 Indian Citizenship Act which gave Native Americans the right to vote. Sadly, Native Americans as well as Black Americans still faced obstacles to voting such as literacy tests, poll taxes and intimidation.
- Adelina “Nina” Otero-Warren, 1881-1965, lived in New Mexico, a descendant of Spanish-speaking settlers there. She gathered support for women’s suffrage among Spanish- and English-speaking communities and was active with the National Women’s Party. She became the first female government official in New Mexico.
- Elizabeth Peratrovich, 1911-1958, was an Alaska Native of Tlingit heritage. She, along with her husband, was instrumental in the 1945 passage of the first Anti-Discrimination laws in the United States, in Alaska. This happened almost 20 years before the U.S. Civil Rights Act. Before that time Native Alaskans were banned from some public places and had to fight for basic rights. Each year on February 16, Alaska celebrates Elizabeth Peratrovich Day and in 2020 the U.S. Mint commemorated Peratrovich with a new dollar coin. Talk about leaving a lasting impression!
There are many more women from history and now who deserve recognition on International Women’s Day. Which women who #Choosetochallenge will you discover? Which women in your life will you celebrate?
-by Alice C. McCain
Feb. 25, 2021