Amazing Women Spotlight: Dolores Huerta
The inspiring feminist and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta was born on April 10, 1930 in New Mexico. After her parents’ divorce, Huerta moved with her mother and siblings to Stockton, California, where she grew up in an ethnically diverse community of working class families. Huerta went on to receive her provisional teaching degree from the University of the Pacific’s Delta College and began teaching the children of farm workers in her community. After seeing her students repeatedly come to class hungry and without shoes, Huerta left her position as a teacher and began her work as an activist to … Continue reading Amazing Women Spotlight: Dolores Huerta
Amazing Women Spotlight: Mary Jackson
Mary Jackson was born on April 9, 1921 in Hampton, Virginia, and grew up during the Jim Crow Era in which segregation and discrimination against black Americans was legalized and systemic. Despite the social and legal adversity she faced as a black woman, Jackson graduated from Hampton Institute in 1942 with degrees in both mathematics and physical sciences. In 1951 Jackson was recruited by NACA, NASA’s predecessor, and worked in the Langley Aeronautical Laboratory’s West Area Computers for two years. Jackson then began to work alongside NASA’s engineers and was encouraged to enter a training program to become an engineer … Continue reading Amazing Women Spotlight: Mary Jackson
Amazing Women Spotlight: Gabriela Mistral aka Lucila Godoy Alcayaga
The first Hispanic writer to receive a Nobel Prize for literature, Lucila Godoy Alcayaga was a dedicated human rights and education advocate whose writing shone a spotlight on the previously unrecognized Chilean culture. Alcayaga first became an educator after studying on her own to gain her teaching qualifications, as she was rejected from local teaching programs for the ‘equality-driven’ themes in her writing. In her spare time, Alcayaga wrote poetry, letters, and newspaper articles to advocate for children, women, Native Americans, and other marginalized groups. Alcayaga went on from teaching in the classroom to assist Mexico’s Education Secretary in reforming … Continue reading Amazing Women Spotlight: Gabriela Mistral aka Lucila Godoy Alcayaga
Amazing Women Spotlight: The Mirabal Sisters
Known as “Las Mariposas,” Patria, Maria Teresa, and Minerva Mirabal were active members of the resistance movement dedicated to toppling the oppressive regime of dictator Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic. The Mirabal sisters worked to distribute pamphlets, develop assassination plots, and gather weapons to be used in the stand against Trujillo. The sisters and their husbands were jailed multiple times throughout their lives for their resistance efforts until Patria, Maria, and Minerva were all tragically assassinated on Trujillo’s orders on November 25th. After their deaths, the Mirabal sisters were immortalized as leading figures in the movements for popular and … Continue reading Amazing Women Spotlight: The Mirabal Sisters
Amazing Women Spotlight: Madame CJ Walker a.k.a. Sarah Breedlove
Sarah Breedlove was born to former slave parents in 1867, just after the American Civil War. She overcame poverty, illiteracy, sexism, and racism in the Reconstruction Era to establish herself as a successful entrepreneur. Her husband and both of her parents had died by the time she was twenty, and she was left alone to support herself and her daughter. Breedlove learned how to make shampoos and pomades for a living. With those skills, and reportedly with only $1.25, Breedlove built herself a haircare empire that became the biggest employer of African American women of the time. Her company provided … Continue reading Amazing Women Spotlight: Madame CJ Walker a.k.a. Sarah Breedlove
A Home Away From Home
The United Service Organizations Inc (USO) was started by six different services, the YMCA, YWCA, Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare Board, Catholic Community Charities, and Travelers Aid Society. President Roosevelt wanted an organization that would serve the needs, both morally and recreationally, of the men sacrificing their lives for their country.
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First in Their Field: Clara Shortridge Foltz
“No one should buy justice in a land that boasts that justice is free“
Celebrate Women’s History With Us!
As we get closer to the centennial of women’s suffrage in the United States there is no better time to become a member of the Women’s Museum of California.
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100 Years of 100 Handbags
We are bringing back one our most popular exhibits
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Beyond the 19th Amendment
The suffrage movement didn’t end in 1920 with the passing of the 19th amendment. Many women still had to continue to fight for their right to vote. As the 100 year anniversary of the 19th amendment comes closer we need to acknowledge the full timeline for voting equality in our county.
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