National Women's History Project

The National Women's History Project is an American non-profit organization dedicated to honoring and preserving women's history. Based out of Santa Rosa, California since 1980, it was started by women's history activists Molly Murphy MacGregor, Mary Ruthsdotter, Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett and Bette Morgan.

The NWHP started by leading a coalition that successfully lobbied Congress to designate March as Women's History Month, now celebrated across the country. Today, the NWHP is known nationally as the only clearinghouse providing information and training in multicultural women’s history for educators, community organizations, and parents-for anyone wanting to expand their understanding of women contributions to U. S. history.

History

Over 30 years of "Writing Women Back into History"

From a Grassroots Organization into a National Institution
• In 1980, the NWHP was a group of women who noticed that women were absent from textbooks. No more than 3% of the content was devoted to women.
• Girls had few role models. Girls and boys and many adults assumed women did nothing important. The founders thought this perception needed to be addressed.
• The NWHP convinced Congress and the White House of the need for our nation to celebrate and recognize women’s role in history on an annual basis. As a result of their efforts, the week of March 8 (International Women’s Day) was officially designated as Women’s History Week. In 1987, the NWHP led the successful campaign to have the entire month of March declared Women's History Month.
• The NWHP mobilizes the national celebrations of Women's History Month in March each year by choosing an annual theme.
• They promote a multicultural women’s history perspective by honoring women of diverse cultural, ethnic, occupational, racial, class, and regional backgrounds.
• Every year the NWHP sends out 100,000 catalogs and distribute tens of thousands of women's history posters, celebratory materials, books, videos, and curriculum resources.
• The NWHP website has over 1,000,000 visitors a year. Additionally, the staff answers over 2,500 e-mails and letters each year from students, teachers, reporters, and other interested individuals requesting information.
• The staff has conducted women's history training sessions and women's historic site tours in 42 states, and has trained over 30,000 teachers and federal program managers and has delivered over 2,500 speeches.
• The NWHP created a national clearinghouse to provide multicultural women's history information, materials, referrals, and strategies. This service also provides easy access to women's history performers, organizations, museums, and historic sites.
• They have designed, developed, and produced more than 200 multicultural women’s history resource materials, such as videos, speeches, posters, celebratory items, guides, program kits, and curriculum units.
• In 1995 and 1998, the NWHP led national campaigns to celebrate and recognize the work of women in expanding and enriching democracy. In 1995, they celebrated the 75th anniversary of women in the United States winning the right to vote and in 1998 the 150th anniversary of the Women's Rights Movement. In 2005, they celebrated the 85th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment and the 25th anniversary of the women's history movement. In 2010 they marked the 90th anniversary of U.S. women gaining the right to vote.
• In 1997 the NWHP launched a website to serve as the digital clearinghouse for multicultural women's history information. Today, this award-winning website is the first women's history choice on all website search engines.
• The NWHP has worked with the President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History. Executive director Molly Murphy MacGregor was appointed by the White House to serve on the Congressional Commission on Women's Historic Landmarks.
• The NWHP believes that "'Our History Is Our Strength"'

Accomplishments

The National Women’s History Project has been recognized for its groundbreaking work in education and its many nationally recognized programs and services by organizations throughout the country, including:
• The National Association for Multicultural Education Award.
• The Jessie Bernard Wise Women Award from the Center for Women Policy Studies.
• The National Education Association’s prestigious Mary Hatwood Furtrell Award.
• The Myra Sadker Equity Award for their work in achievement in gender equity.

Mission

The National Women’s History Project is an educational nonprofit organization whose mission is to recognize and celebrate the diverse and historic accomplishments of women by providing information and educational materials and programs.^[1]

They explain their mission this way: The impact of women’s history might seem abstract to some, and less pressing than the immediate struggles of working women today. But to ignore the vital role that women’s dreams and accomplishments play in our own lives would be a great mistake. We draw strength and inspiration from those who came before us – and those remarkable women working among us today. They are part of our story, and a truly balanced and inclusive history recognizes how important women have always been in American society. ^[2]

Purpose

The NWHP promotes women's history because, By walking history’s pathways, we learn to step forward with confidence. The legacy of how others shaped society sparks our own longings to contribute. Everyone needs role models — footsteps enough like our own to inspire us. History must tell the whole story. For girls, knowing women’s achievements expands their sense of what is possible. For all of us, knowledge of women’s strengths and contributions builds respect and nourishes self esteem — crucial to all children and adults now, and in the years to come. ^[3]
The enduring goal of the NWHP is to “make history” accurate by continuing to recognize and celebrate women’s authentic contributions through current and future projects.^[4]

References

Resources

• National Women's History Project Official Site.
• War Letters "Women's history during WWI and WWII"
• American Women's History "A resource guide"