Why Women's History Month Matters to Me
From Eve to Mariam, Rahab to Ruth, Elizabeth to Mary, the Bible is full of women whose stories have been told for generations. While some of them, many of them, have had their stories manipulated into tales of ill repute, their stories are more than one moment that was captured. We are given just a sliver of who they were, what they did. I am grateful that they made it into the closed canon, but I have to admit I wish for so much more.
From an early age, I was captivated by the stories of women, stories by women, stories for women. I read the entire series of Little House on the Prairie, The Nancy Drew Files, Sweet Valley High, and the list can go on and on. Little Women made such an impact on me that my family started giving me special edition copies. I remember when Sally Ride went into space, when Sandra Day O’Connor joined the Supreme Court, and even the 1984 presidential election when Geraldine Ferraro was on the ticket for Vice President. These women are a part of my story, my history.
As we enter a time when the rights of women seem to be inconsequential, we need to remember that while it’s hard, it’s not new. While it’s almost unbearable, it’s been overcome before. And it must be overcome again.
We need to be telling the stories of the women today who are making history. Women like Kizzmekia Corbett, an immunologist who was on the forefront of the COVID-19 Vaccine; Sarah Thomas, the first NLF official; and Cheryl Horn an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous women in Montana. These women are taking risks, breaking barriers and inspiring us to be more than we think we can be.
As we finish women’s history month, let us not leave behind the stories of the women. We must tell them again. Their history matters. Our history matters.