famous American women – Peaceful Reader

March is known for several holidays like St. Patrick’s Day and Lent, Spring Break in some places but I appreciate March for Women’s History. Collective Wisdom; Lessons, Inspiration, and Advice from women over 50 by Grace Bonney. My friend Verda gifted this to me on my birthday last year and I’ve still not made it through the whole collection. What I love most is to browse through and read the quotes from all the profiles.

Like Betty Reid Soskin, 100-year-old from California and the oldest National Park Ranger in the U.S. who says:

“I have been many women. They come and they go, and some of them I would have loved to have stayed with me longer, but the fact that I have been all those things has made life, for me, very rich.”

and JoAni Johnson, a 69-year-old model from New York, NY who says: “When you’ve been around the sun so many times and have a variety of experiences and you’re able to stay standing – that’s resilience.”

or Julia Alvarez, a 71-year-old Dominican American poet and author: “I feel that I’m a bead in the necklace of the generations.”

or Mahboubeh Abbasgholizadeh, a 63-year-old Iranian journalist who shares this:

“One of the most amazing things in our lives, regardless of how we describe our sexuality or gender identity, is the power of motherhood. And by that, I mean the power of nurturing: nurturing other humans, I think everyone has the ability to do this in some form, and it can be so empowering. To care for others and use our strengh to lift up others.”

I am inspired every time I open up the pages of this book and find something new to read. I connect with the women, their journeys, and message. We know and herald our famous women but many of these profiles are about women making a difference in their families and communities. I am someone who is always open to ideas and am in constant motion to learn more. Whether you have this book or not, find an inspiring story to read about Seneca Falls, or any part of women’s history to help us bridge the gap of what we are dealing with today. We need more brave souls like Lucy Stone.

We still have a few days left in March to celebrate the powerful women that came before us, clearing the way for equal rights (someday we’ll truly get there) because we have come so far. Groovy Girl and I have been reading Lives of Extraordinary Women; Rulers and Rebels (and what the neighbors thought) by Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt.

Krull’s introduction begins “Not all governments have been run by men. Here, in chronological order, are twenty women who wielded political power, as queens, warriors, prime ministers, revolutionary leaders, Indian chiefs, first ladies, or other government officials.”

The first person in the book is Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, and I have to say I thought I knew about Cleopatra but there was much to be revealed in her three page spread. Her family loved ruling Egypt so much that they intermarried each other to keep it in the family. She was forced to marry her 10-year-old brother and she dealt with it by ignoring him, like a normal older sibling, really! She traveled extensively and often looted foreign libraries for their papyrus rolls so she could add to her own library. She loved to spend time in her library (of stolen materials…) and may have even written a volume on cosmetics. In the end she killed herself by letting a snake bite her. I don’t think she is someone to look up to exactly but she did lead an interesting life and she tried to be nice to ordinary Egyptians.

Eleanor of Aquitaine is the second ruler in this volume and she was queen of both France and England. Her father died when she was 15 but he had taught her much during her short life. She understood what it took to be powerful, she could read and write, and she was worth a lot of money at that time because of her land holdings. She married Louis VII, the King of France, later divorced him because he was boring. Later she married Henry who later became Henry the II, King of England. They had 8 children together and when she was fed up with Henry’s affairs she moved out and established her own court across town where they made fun of men! Henry eventually had her committed to a convent and after his death she was released.

This book is easy to read, has about three pages per extraordinary woman, and has lots of fun comments in the text. Check out Kathleen Krull’s website.

As a March activity in the library we hung a picture quiz for students to identify famous American women. See how you do…

This is just a select few but not many of our elementary students know these choices. The two they do know is Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton, a victory for modern women.

Tag: famous American women

Collective Wisdom

Women's History Month