02/03/2026
Happy ! ✨ For 30 years, the NWHM has worked to ensure that women’s history is visible, accessible, and fully integrated into the story of our nation.
This work is not secondary to American history. It *is* American history.
This month (like every month!), we're excited to engage with our communities through virtual programming, amplify women's achievements across all fields, and spotlight lesser-known trailblazers, including:
✈️ Hazel Ying Lee, the first Chinese American woman to fly for the U.S. military, serving as a Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) ferry pilot during World War II
🗣️ Susette LaFlesche Tibbles (Bright Eyes), an Omaha woman who spent her entire life tirelessly campaigning for Native American rights as a speaker, activist, interpreter, and writer
📰 Nellie Bly, whose undercover reporting not only raised awareness about mental health treatment and led to improvements in institutional conditions, but also ushered in an age of investigative journalism
🪸 Joan Murrell Owens, the first Black woman marine biologist, geologist, and paleontologist who discovered a new genus of button coral
🏳️🌈 Laura M. Esquivel, a lifelong activist and cofounder of Latino(a) Le***an and Gay Organization (LLEGÓ) who's often referred to as “La Madre” of the Latino LGBTQ+ movement
🗽 Emma Lazarus, a Jewish American writer and activist whose words “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” are almost as well-known as the Statue of Liberty they're engraved on
🎨 Edmonia Lewis, the first professional Black and Native American sculptor in the U.S. who used her art to depict the stories of women and Indigenous people with reverence and beauty
⚖️ Sylvia Mendez, who, at age 8, played an instrumental role in Mendez v. Westminster, the landmark 1946 case that successfully ended de jure segregation in California
🪖 Maya Lin, a renowned artist and architect who began her career creating the Vietnam War Memorial at 21 years old after winning a national search competition with her innovative minimal design
Who are you celebrating this Women's History Month? Let us know in the comments!
