The Pain of Women's History Month
Recognizing how far we've come—and how far from justice we remain
Welcome back to the This Day newsletter (catchier, right?). Each week, a member of our team gathers together bits of America’s past and attempts to find a throughline that might add a little understanding to our current moment.
Here’s what happened over the week ahead in American political history…
March 13
1868: The Senate begins impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson
1916: 6,000 US troops are getting ready to enter Mexico to track down rebel leader Pancho Villa
1955: News breaks that the White House is engaged in a full-on battle against the squirrels that have invaded the grounds
2020: Breonna Taylor is killed by police officers in Louisville
March 14
1783: George Washington gives an address to his troops camped in Newburgh, NY, that averted a possible coup attempt
1950: The FBI's "10 Most Wanted Fugitives" list appears for the first time
1973: Navy pilot John McCain and other American prisoners of war are released by North Vietnam
March 15
1820: Maine becomes the 23rd U.S. state, following the Missouri Compromise, which allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave-holding state and Maine as a free state
March 16
1968: Hundreds of Vietnamese villagers are killed in the My Lai Massacre
1984: William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Lebanon, is kidnapped by Hezbollah
1991 : A young girl, Latasha Harlins, is killed by a shopkeeper in South Central Los Angeles
1995: Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment
March 17
1776: The British Army evacuates Boston
1941: The National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C.
1986: President Ronald Reagan calls Democrat House Speaker Tip O’Neill “a friend” as O’Neill retires
2008: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigns after a week of reports about his patronizing a prostitution ring
March 18
1766: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act
1942: The War Relocation Authority is established in the United States to take all people of Japanese descent into custody, surround them with troops, prevent them from buying land, and return them to their former homes at the close of the war
2005: A feeding tube is removed from Terri Schiavo for the final time. She would die later that month
March 19
1909: J.P. Morgan pledges to help wipe out the ‘Black Hand’ and similar criminal societies in the United States.
1918: Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.
1931: The Nevada Legislature votes to legalize gambling.
In which we take the above collection of events and find themes, throughlines, rabbit holes and more. This week it’s Kellie Carter Jackson’s turn at the typewriter.
Hi friends, we are in the middle of Women’s History Month, a celebration of firsts and women leaders who contributed much to the nation and the world. And just like Black History Month, cultural celebrations and the embrace of diversity have been under attack. So pretty much every chance I get, I’m using it to highlight the work and lives of people who are most marginalized and in need of voice, volume, and value. It is fitting that Women’s History Month comes on the heels of Black History Month. We get to keep these much needed conversations going.
This week in connecting the dots, two women stood out to me in particular: Latasha Harlins and Breonna Taylor. Both bare stories of tragedy and lives cut short far too early and unjustly. In 1991, Latasha was just 15 years old when she was gunned down by a Korean shopkeeper, Soon Ja Du. The store owner accused her of attempting to steal orange juice. An altercation broke out and Harlin was shot in the back of the head by Du and killed instantly. LA was reeling. Harlin’s death occurred almost two weeks after Rodney King’s viral police beating. Major parts of the city of LA were destroyed by riots when Du was sentenced to 400 hours of community service, a $500 fine, and Harlin’s funeral costs. The judicial system was sending a message. Black life did not matter. In 2020, there were massive protests when Breonna Taylor was killed by the Louisville Police Department. The police forced their way into her home while she slept. She was 26 and a medical worker. She was shot five times. Protests were immediate, but did not gain national attention until over two months later when George Floyd was killed.
These deaths are grievous and unnecessary. They remind us that Women’s History Month is not just about victories and achievements. It is also a signal to remember how far we have to go. The injustice women of all backgrounds face is not merely about access to coveted spaces. It is equally about being protected from the violence of racism, sexism, and classism. These months dedicated to identity and personhood teach us that no one’s life—young or old, rich or poor, black or white—is expendable. And while that might seem like a logical and universal tenant, this week, the bright yellow plaza that boldly read: Black Lives Matter was deconstructed and pulled up in Washington, DC. The street was destroyed not because the we had achieved justice, but to mark just how far from it we actually are.
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