Women's History Month
This Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting some of the amazing Ohioan women who have built our state and our country. These women have a link to Ohio, whether for life or just a few years but lived on the ground we are fighting for today. Which names do you recognize? Are any of them completely new to you? History has not been favorable to women and femmes; often erasing our presence and impact entirely-- particularly women and femme of color. We want to change that. By remembering their names and their stories, we begin a new history-- written by us, for us.
Florence Ellinwood Allen (March 23, 1884 – September 12, 1966) was a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. She was the first woman to serve on a state supreme court and one of the first two women to serve as a United States federal judge. In 2005, she was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Charity Adams Earley (5 December 1918 – 13 January 2002) was the first African-American woman to be an officer in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (later WACS) and was the commanding officer of the first battalion of African-American women to serve overseas during World War II. Adams was the highest ranking African-American woman in the army by the completion of the war.
Gloria Marie Steinem ( born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social political activist who became nationally recognized as a leader and a spokeswoman for the American feminist movement in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies, poetry recordings, and nonfiction essays, and covers topics ranging from race and social issues to children's literature. She has won numerous awards, including the Langston Hughes Medal and the NAACP Image Award. She has been nominated for a Grammy Award for her poetry album, The Nikki Giovanni Poetry Collection. Additionally, she has been named as one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends".
Faye Wattleton (born Alyce Faye Wattleton; 8 July 1943) is an American abortion rights activist who was the first African American and the youngest president ever elected of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the first woman since Margaret Sanger to hold the position. She is best known for her contributions to family planning and reproductive health, as well as the pro-choice movement.
Maya Ying Lin (born October 5, 1959) is an American designer, architect, and artist who works in sculpture and land art. She achieved national recognition at the age of 21 while still an undergraduate at Yale University, when her design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. was chosen in a national competition. It is considered one of the most influential memorials of the post-World War II period. Lin has designed other memorials and numerous public and private buildings, landscape design, and sculpture. Although Lin's best known sculptures and architectural work are historical memorials, she also honors nature through her environmentally themed works. In creating works which deal with the environment in decline, Lin aims to raise awareness for the environment for audiences in urban spaces.
Hallie Quinn Brown (March 10, 1849 – September 16, 1949) was an African-American educator, writer and activist.
Originally of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she moved with her parents while quite young to a farm near Chatham, Canada. Brown was born to two former slaves. Her father was an incredibly bright man, known as "Mr. Brown, the walking encyclopedia." Her mother was also well educated, a counselor to the students of Wilberforce school. Brown's family moved to Canada in 1864 and then to Ohio in 1870. In 1868, she began a course of study in Wilberforce University, Ohio, from which she graduated in 1873 with the degree of Bachelor of Science.
She started her career by teaching at a country school in South Carolina and at the same time, a class of older people. After this, she went to Mississippi, where she again had charge of a school. She became employed as a teacher at Yazoo City, Mississippi, before securing a position as teacher in Dayton, Ohio. Resigning due to ill health, she then traveled in the interest of Wiberforce University on a lecture tour, and was particularly welcomed at Hampton Normal School (now Hampton University) in Virginia. Though elected as instructor in elocution and literature at Wilberforce University, she declined the offer in order to accept a position at Tuskegee Institute. In 1886, she graduated from Chautauqua, and in 1887 received the degree of Master of Science from her alma mater, Wilberforce, being the first woman to do so.
Lillian D. Wald (March 10, 1867 – September 1, 1940) was an American nurse, humanitarian and author. She was known for contributions to human rights and was the founder of American community nursing. She founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York City and was an early advocate to have nurses in public schools. After growing up in Ohio and New York, Wald became a nurse. She briefly attended medical school and began to teach community health classes. After founding the Henry Street Settlement, she became an activist for the rights of women and minorities. She campaigned for suffrage and was a supporter of racial integration. She was involved in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Wald died in 1940 at the age of 73.
Irene Duhart Long (born November 16, 1951) is an American physician and was an official at the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. She was the first female chief medical officer at the Kennedy Space Center.
Long was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of Andrew and Heloweise Davis Duhart. She graduated from East High School in Cleveland, and in 1973, she received her bachelor's degree in biology from Northwestern University. In 1977, Long received her medical degree from the Saint Louis University School of Medicine followed by residencies at the Cleveland Clinic, Mt. Sinai Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, where she received her Masters of Science degree in aerospace medicine.
In 1982 Long went to work for NASA as a physician. In 1994, she was appointed director of the Biomedical Operations and Research Office at the Kennedy Space Center. In 2000, she was appointed as Chief Medical Officer and Associate Director of Spaceport Services at the Kennedy Space Center. She retired at the age of 63 and David Tipton assumed the duties as Chief Medical Officer in 2013. She worked for NASA for 31 years.
Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan (born October 3, 1951) is an American geologist and a former NASA astronaut. A crew member on three Space Shuttle missions, she was the first American woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984.
Right now, COVID-19 is writing a new history. Ohio Womens Alliance has been thinking about how we want to be remember during this moment in history. We want to be remembered by creating a culture of support and care during this critical time. How do you want your history to be remembered?