Lovelace was the only legitimate child of the 19th century British poet Lord Byron. She is sometimes credited as the world’s first computer programmer and is known for her work on Charles Babbage’s  analytical engine, early mechanical general-purpose computer. Between 1842 and 1843, she translated an article by Italian mathematician Luigi Menabrea on the engine and supplemented the translation with her own notes. Her notes are largely recognized as the first computer program.

The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress in partnership with the National Women’s History Museum and the Washington Area Group for Print Culture Studies  is hosting a special presentation of Right Here I See My Own Books: The Woman’s Building Library at the World’s Columbian Exposition (University of Massachusetts Press January 2012). The book’s co-authors, Sarah Wadsworth, associate professor of English at Marquette University and Wayne A. Wiegand, F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies Emeritus at Florida State University, will be presenting on Friday, March 2 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. at the Library of Congress, Thomas Jefferson Building, (10 First Street, S.E. Washington, DC), Room LJ 119. This is going to be a very special event with Right Here I See My Own Books offering new insights about this first effort to assemble a comprehensive library of women’s texts at the end of the 19th Century.

The Woman’s Building at the Columbian Exposition housed the Library featuring over 8,000 books written by women.  While American women wrote the majority of the books, women from other countries were also represented at this World’s Fair and their books spanned women’s writings from the 15th through the 19th Centuries. An interesting note is that one of our Coalition members, the American Library Association, headquartered in Chicago, participated in the construction of the original library in the Woman’s Building. One of the major benefits of the authors’ research for the book has once again gathered the titles of the books that were in the Library of the Woman’s Building. Using the power of the Internet, the authors are placing the information in an online database so that it can be accessed by researchers, students and those interested in women’s history throughout the world!

 March – April 2012

March 2 – 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Center for the Book at the Library of Congress, National Women’s History Museum and the Washington Area Group for Print Culture Studies, Library of Congress   Thomas Jefferson Building (10 First Street S.E.) Room LJ 119  

March 23 – 9:00 a.m. -3:30 p.m. Scholars Commons, Strozier Library, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida.  Sponsored by FSU Libraries and Friends of the FSU Libraries, the Colloquium on the Book participants (in addition to Wiegand) include Rutgers Professor Marija Dalbello, and FSU Professors Meegan Kennedy, Jennifer Koslow, Silvia Valisaa, Anne Rowe and NWHM representative and noted historian of women’s history Doris Weatherford.

March 28 – 7:00 p.m. South Ballroom, Memorial Union, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.  Sponsored by Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, Women’s and Gender Studies program, College of Liberal Arts and Science, F. Wendell Miller Lecture Fund, Department of History, and Committee on Lectures (funded by the Government of the Student Body.

March 29 – 6:00 p.m. Room RB 150, Northwestern University School of Law, Arthur Rubloff Building, 375 E. Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois.  Sponsored by the Northwestern University Libraries, which houses the remainder of the Woman’s Building Library Collection, and the American Library Association, which participated in the constructions of the original library.  Sarah Wadsworth is co-presenting with Wayne Wiegand.

April 2 – 7:00 p.m. Mead Library, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI  Sponsored by AAUW, Lydia Olson Library, Department of Sociology & Social Work, Committee on Women and the Peter White Library.

April 23 – Noon – Commons, 4^th Floor, Helen C. White Hall, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Madison, WI.  Sponsored by the Center for the History of Print and Digital Culture.  Sarah Wadsworth is co-presenting.

April 24 – 4:00 p.m., Room 126, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, 501 East Daniel Street, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Il. 61820.

Click here to play the game:  http://www.nwhm.org/media/category/education/interactives/index.html

In the case of Iowa, the state’s aversion to electing females in higher offices is not due to lack of options. Roxanne Conlin, Bonnie Campbell, Ann Hutchinson and Joy Corning have all campaigned unsuccessfully for higher office in Iowa.

Spring Schedule:

“New Negro Women and Beyond: Posing Beauty in African American Culture”
(The lecture discusses a rich history of beauty that merges gender, race, family, and class from 1890 to now)
Dr. Deborah Willis (New York University) – January 18, 2012

“The Grand Domestic Revolution: A History of Feminist Designs for American Homes, Neighborhoods, and Cities”
Dolores Hayden (Yale) – February 15, 2012

Topic to Be Announced
Dr. Kathleen Brown (University of Penn) – March 14, 2012

“Language Makes History: Intersections of Language, Gender and Politics”
Dr. Robin Lakoff (UC Berkeley) – April 18, 2012

“Doing Well by Doing Good: American Women’s Long Tradition of Reform”
Dr. Sonya Michel (University of Maryland) – May 16, 2012

Videos of past lectures:

Women’s Rights, Family Values, and the Polarization of American Politics: A lecture by Dr. Marjorie Spruill

Why Latino/a History Matters to U.S. History: A lecture by Dr. Vicki Ruiz  

“African American Women Refugees in the Civil War” A lecture by Dr. Thavolia Glymph

“Dorothea Lange: Life, Politics, and Work”: A lecture by Dr. Linda Gordon

“New Negro Women and Beyond: Posing Beauty in African American Culture”: A lecture by Dr. Deborah Willis

Meryl on ‘Streep Tease’ and Margaret Thatcher

By: Ruben Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MERYL Streep: “I’ve always had empathy for older people.” Photo by Ruben Nepales 

LOS ANGELES – Meryl Streep, beautiful in a red cowl neck sweater and black pants, preferred to stand up for most of our interview in a New York hotel.

“I am so precariously placed because of my traveling,” the legendary actress explained. With a smile and that mellifluous voice, she said, “I was at the Kennedy Center till 3 o’clock in the morning, drinking with De Niro and all these bad, bad men so I’m sorry.” Looming over us, and with a majestic chandelier above her, Meryl seemed larger than life.

She gives a stunning performance as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady,” an intimate portrait of the first and only female prime minister of the United Kingdom. Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Meryl in “Mamma Mia!,” is also behind “The Iron Lady,” which features Jim Broadbent and Olivia Colman as Margaret Thatcher’s husband and daughter, Denis and Carol, respectively. Abi Morgan wrote the screenplay which also shows Thatcher’s struggle with dementia in her later years.

With her wit and humor, Meryl answered all our questions, including that one about Filipino-American actor Roy Cruz’s brainchild, “Streep Tease,” a paean to some of her memorable scenes in various films. Below are excerpts from our interview:

Have you heard of “Streep Tease,” a show featuring an all-male cast who does monologues from your films?

Yes, I have.

Are you tempted to watch it?

No, I’m not. I’m sick of me. It’s only like once a year I have to plop this out and tell all the stories but I don’t like to necessarily luxuriate in me. That’s just me. I don’t know. I am sure they’re having a good time and I’m sure it’s really funny and fun but I just don’t have any desire to go down and see more about me.

“IN every marriage, there’s good cop/bad cop. Guess which one I am?” Photo by Ruben Nepales 

How difficult was this Margaret Thatcher role to pull off?

The difficulty for me was physically. I would say 40 percent of the portrayal is of an old woman. We were on such a tiny budget. We had very long days. Our budget was $14 million so we didn’t have the leisure to take time and rest. There were no rests. Standing like this for 12 hours was very painful after a time. I thought about Daniel Day (Lewis) when he did “My Left Foot.” I thought we had the same contortion (she showed a hunched posture). All I wanted was a great masseur. If anybody knows a great masseur in England, let me know because they were few and far between.

How challenging was it to act with all that makeup?

The makeup was by Mark Coulier who’s a genius. He constructed the thinnest pieces (of prosthetics) that I’ve ever seen. You can move, you have freedom. It feels like skin. It doesn’t feel like you’re encased in anything. It’s state of the art. To have something that looked and felt so real made my job much easier.

How did you feel when you looked at yourself in the mirror with the makeup for the first time?

I felt like myself. Every woman does nothing but study each line that appears. When I was 10 years old, I looked in the mirror and I counted 11 lines. I still have the 11 lines on my face. I was an old woman then and I’m a young woman now. We all have the whole thing in us all the time. We are the old people that we’re going to be when we’re young. When I made “Kramer vs Kramer,” I wasn’t a mother yet but I was already the mother that I was going to be. You’re who you are and you just have to find it. It’s all in there. I’ve always had empathy for older people, especially old ladies because I love my grandmothers.

How much has portraying Margaret Thatcher changed your opinion of her?

I remember when she was elected. Of course, my friends and I were all playing for the other team, not really thrilled with her policies. My friends and I were secretly thrilled that a woman and from the Conservative Party had been elected head of the United Kingdom. It seemed incredible. In the mid-’70s, there weren’t very many women in government. They just were not there at any level. It was very rare. So we were excited even though we didn’t like her policies. We thought if this can happen in gender biased, homophobic, class-ridden England, it can happen in America.

You’re an American actress playing a major British political figure. Did you feel any resentment in England?

I felt nervous about that myself and yet I could make a rationalization. Phyllida was so smart because when she brought me this story, she said, “The reason you’re perfect to play this is because you are an outsider and Margaret was an outsider in her world, in her party. She was always where she didn’t belong or where she wasn’t wanted.”

I didn’t feel unwanted but I did feel nervous on the first day we walked into the rehearsal hall. There were 45 of the most wonderful British actors. They’ve all done deep homework into the characters they were portraying. I never felt more like I was from New Jersey than that moment. But they were really generous, especially Jim (Broadbent, who plays Denis Thatcher) and Olivia Colman (Carol). They gave me the credibility. Every actor knows that you can only believe in yourself, to the degree that in the other person you really read it in their eyes that they credit you, that they see you as who you’re claiming to be. That’s where I’m grateful to them.

 

 

MERYL Streep stars as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” 

 

 Was there something that you learned about Margaret Thatcher that surprised you?

She was the head of the United Kingdom for 11 and a half years and she did not have a cook. I have a cook. The last movie that I stopped making dinner was “Sophie’s Choice.” That was a long ago. Now I’m back cooking because everybody’s grown up. I imagine that Margaret Thatcher wanted to make dinner for Denis every night. Even when it was take-out from Marks & Spencer, they would sit down and have it together. She forgot to eat a lot. That’s something I have never done. She had prodigious amounts of energy and worked late into the night. She required all the cabinet ministers to be up there in the apartment with her.

She’d work and work and Denis would come in and say, “Woman, you got to feed these men.” She’d go in and whip up some horrible rarebit or something and give it to them. All that surprised me.

Can you talk about the sacrifices that Margaret Thatcher made, especially how she sacrificed her children in a way for her career?

Every single man in government makes the same sacrifice. You’d never talk about the guilt of the father.

I don’t think that society looks at it that way.

That’s right. The world is unfair! The way Phyllida constructed this is that it’s not pounded, that it’s just gracefully alluded to. You never know what the story is with the son but you know that he is not around. We didn’t make any of this up. People have written about it. Her daughter has written a book called “A Swim-On Part in the Goldfish Bowl” and talked about her mother’s dementia. We don’t hammer any of those things. They’re just laid in the way that we hope you will feel them. So that every mother and father could identify with that feeling of not really being there for their children.

Can you talk about the fact that Margaret Thatcher is still alive and did it cross your mind that she might see this film one day?

I think this may be the fourth movie about Margaret Thatcher but I did think very long and hard. Phyllida, Abi and I discussed this a lot—our imaginative journey into the mind of someone who is kind on the edge of understanding reality and having moments of clarity and confusion. The three of us have had experience with dementia in our families. We didn’t want a stigma attached to talking about that because it’s life and it’s real. We tried to get as  close as we could to the truth that you can get with fiction. Sometimes you’re freer to talk about things when you’re just imagining them. We don’t make any pretenses about that.

Kathy Bates told us once that she wanted all the roles that you’ve played.

Kathy and I have talked about doing together the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (American women who fought for the rights of women). It’s a fairly recent history of women in this country which is pretty much untold. It’s part of the reasons why I donated my salary on this movie to the National Women’s History Museum. I feel strongly that my job as a storyteller reaches people in a way. I wish there were a place that was on the National Mall and that was first in the world to celebrate this radical change in the 20th and 21st centuries in the balance of who women and men were in society. It’s a great story.

As a mother, how do you feel about your two daughters (Mamie and Grace Gummer) now being in the same profession? Are you nervous?

I’m nervous all the time. I’m always worried. I have put a daughter on a plane to London and she lost her wallet. When you have children, you worry even when they’re grown ups. I’m proud of my daughters who are actors. They’re very talented and mostly unmoved by the fact that they’re doing this with all the attention that will be focused on them because of me and who I am and everything. They want to do it. That’s what you want for your kids – to do the thing they love because you only get one life.

Are you very strict at home?

You betcha! In every marriage, there’s good cop/bad cop. Guess which one I am? That’s often the way. Daddy’s the good cop. They always go to him. There are initials in my house. I didn’t know what they meant  for so long – “DTM.” That’s don’t tell mom. I just found that out.

In the film, when Denis proposed to Margaret, she said yes but she also made sure that he knew what she was getting into. What did you tell your husband (Donald Gummer) when he proposed to you?

You are presuming that he proposed to me. We just thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to eat?,” because he’s an artist and I’m an actor. That wasn’t assured. I moved in and we had no kitchen. We had a hot plate and we had a mattress on the floor. But we’re lucky.

But he knew what he was going into with you?

I think so because he was a friend of my brother’s. My brother told him everything about me.

Margaret Thatcher was one of the most powerful women in the world but in the film, she was lonely and maybe isolated. Do you also sometimes feel lonely?

 

 I have so many girlfriends who are actors and I don’t feel alone that way.

So how do you avoid being alone as well?

I’m married and I have thousands of children. I don’t feel alone. I would love to be alone for five minutes. It would be great.

So how are you enjoying your new life with no kids around?

It’s great. My children are always circling and moving back in as various things happen. They lose the lease or whatever it is. There’s never anything to eat in the house because they come in very late at night which is when they live and I don’t. I’m asleep but they come in and take over and then disappear into their lives. I really like this part of life. I really like it now that they’re grown ups. You wait so many years and you think, what are they going to be like when they grow up? Pretty much, they’re like who they were when they were 3. You can really see.

Who would you like to play you someday?

What a thought. Well, Mamie or Grace Gummer maybe.

Do you have a few other names?

Yes, my daughters.

What’s your definition of an old woman ?

Over 80, I guess, because I am not quite there yet but I’ll probably up it when I get there.

Are you doing “Mommy and Me”?

Yes, Tina Fey is writing it as we speak. I’m very excited about that. I’m going to play her mother. So that will be fun.

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com. Follow him at http://twitter.com/nepalesruben.

By Jacqueline Trescott

http://www.nbcwashington.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/National-Womens-History-Museum-Honors-3-Women-From-the-Past/133572348

invite you to a lecture in the series:

The Past, Present, and Future of U.S. Women’s History

African American Women Refugees in the Civil War

Dr. Thavolia Glymph

Associate Professor of African and African American Studies and History

Duke University

Thursday, November 17, 2011 – Lecture, 4-5:30 p.m. – Flom Auditorium, Sixth Floor

Reception, 5:30-6 p.m., Sixth Floor Dining Room

Woodrow Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20004

This event is free and open to the public, but RSVPs are requested.

Please respond with acceptances only to swinston@nwhm.org

Please allow time to go through building security.

Directions to the Wilson Center are available at: www.wilsoncenter.org/directions

The reform was announced by David Cameron, the British Prime Minister, at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, attended by the Queen, in Perth, Australia.  Cameron said the historic rules were “at odds with the modern countries that we have become” and that  ”put simply, if the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to have a little girl, that girl would one day be our queen.”

The film opens Friday at Landmark’s E Street Cinema, the Shrilington 7 in Arlington and Cinema Arts in Fairfax. The film is 120 minutes and is unrated.

The NWHM bill was attached to other legislation supported by Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) and re-introduced as HR 2844, the National Women’s History Museum and Federal Facilities Consolidation and Efficiency Act of 2011. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) is a cosponsor of the bill.

The legislative language in the new bill revises and further clarifies the boundaries of the site that NWHM will be allowed to purchase at 12th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., adjacent to the National Mall. This change eliminates any questions as to Congressional intent and will be helpful in site negotiations with the General Services Administration (GSA), the nation’s landlord.

NWHM urges support for the passage of HR 2844. Please contact your Member of Congress to encourage their support for this bill. For more information on NWHM and legislation go to www.nwhm.org.

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a was created as a result of the Labor Movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers–men and women. Every year, the contributions that workers have made to the strengh, prosperity, and well-being of our country are commemorated.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date. The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

As Labor Day draws near let us all take time to reflect on the hard work that countless women– mothers, daughters, aunts, and grandmothers, have dedicated to our nation.

Source: http://www.dol.gov/opa/aboutdol/laborday.htm

Join Meryl Streep and friends of the National Women’s History Museum for the first annual The de Pizan Honors, a gala event paying tribute to women from the past and present. The event will take place on November 16, 2011 at the Ronald Reagan Center in Washington, D.C. beginning at 6:00 pm.

The de Pizan Honors stand apart from the hundreds of events that honor women—the lives and contributions of the Honorees will be recognized within the soon-to-be-constructed world-class National Women’s History Museum, at the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Join us for an evening of food, fun, and history, as we celebrate the legends from the past and the women who are creating a legacy today. Hosted by Meryl Streep and other personalities from the entertainment industry, the proceeds from the event will support the operations of the Museum, ensuring that women have a permanent place in history.

The reception begins at 6:00 pm, followed by the Honors ceremony at 7:00pm. VIP ticket holders will enjoy an intimate dinner after the presentation.

To buy tickets click here: http://www.nwhm.org/support-nwhm/events/de-pizan-tickets

Sponsored by:

Gov. Sproul of Pennsylvania Signing Suffrage Amendment

August 26th is Women’s Equality Day and marks the anniversary of national woman suffrage.  Across the seventy-two years between the first major women’s rights conference at Senecca Falls, New York, in 1848, and the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, thousands of people participated in marches through cities like New York and Washington DC, wrote editorials and pamphlets, gave speeches all over the nation, lobbied political organizations, and held demonstrations with the goal of achieving voting rights for women.  Women also picketed the White House with questions like, “Mr. President, what are you going to do about woman’s suffrage?” “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?”  This was the first time in history that a group of people picketed the White House.

The woman suffrage amendment was introduced for the first time to the United States Congress on January 10, 1878.  It was re-submitted numerous times until finally in June 1919 the amendment received approval from both the House of Representatives and the Senate.  Over the following year the suffragists spent their time lobbying states in order to have the amendment ratified by the required two-thirds of the states.  On August 24th, Tennessee, the final state needed for ratification, narrowly signed the approval by one vote.  The vote belonged to Harry Burn, who heeded the words of his mother when she urged him to vote yes on suffrage.  The U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the amendment into law on August 26, 1920.

Fifty years later on August 26th, 1970, Betty Friedan and the National Organization of Women (NOW) organized a nationwide Women’s Strike for Equality.  Women across the political spectrum joined together to demand equal opportunities in employment, education, and twenty-four hour child-care centers.  This was the largest protest for gender equality in U.S. history.  There were demonstrations and rallies in more than ninety major cities and small towns across the country and over 100,000 women participated, including 50,000 who marched down Fifth Avenue in New York City.

Several other acts occurred on that day to help the cause and prompt more press coverage on the women’s movement.  For example, women in New York City took over the Statue of Liberty.  In preparation, several women climbed up to measure the wind velocity.  Later they returned to the Statue with two forty-foot banners to hang from the crown.  One read: “March on August 26 for Equality.” The other: “Women of the World Unite.”  An organized group stopped the ticker tape at the American Stock Exchange, and they held signs with slogans like, “We won’t bear any more bull.”  Another action taken during the day was a lawsuit filed against the New York City Board of Education to gain equality for women in educational administration. The case lasted about ten years and finally resulted in a larger increase in female principals.

While the strike did not halt the activities of the nation, it drew national attention to the women’s rights movement.  For example, The New York Times published their first major article on the feminist movement by covering the events of the day.  It even included a map of the route the marchers took through New York City.

The following year in 1971, Representative Bella Abzug (D-NY) introduced a bill designating August 26th of each year as Women’s Equality Day and the bill passed.  Part of the bill reads that Women’s Equality Day is a symbol of women’s continued fight for equal rights and that the United States commends and supports them.  It decreed that the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of woman suffrage and the 1970 Strike for Equality. Women today continue to draw on the history of these brave and determined women.

Your financial support for our efforts will help ensure that women’s history is an integrated part of our nation’s story.

Joan Wages, President & CEO, National Women’s History Museum

 By: Joan Wages, NWHM President & CEO  

Betty Ford, 1974

First Lady Betty Ford was both a controversial pioneer, a crusader for women’s rights, and one of the most respected and beloved women in America. 

Like the suffragists, she empowered generations and changed the lives of thousands. It is women like her who have shaped our nation. 

Soon after her husband was inaugurated, the first lady held her first press conference, immediately addressing the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1975, Ford spoke at the International Women’s Year meeting where she made what was called “the most progressive [speech] made by any president’s wife since Eleanor Roosevelt,” she encouraged all women to work for passage of the ERA. To quote Mrs. Ford, “the search for human freedom can never be complete without freedom for women.” 

Before Ford’s admission, the subject of breast cancer and substance abuse was taboo. She freed women from their emotional solitary confinement.  Ford’s brave disclosure gave men and women suffering from addiction a sense they were not alone. 

 In 1982, she went on to found the Betty Ford Center for substance abuse and addiction in Rancho Mirage, California. She tirelessly campaigned to raise funds for, and awareness of, drug addiction and  treatment.    

President Gerald Ford and First Lady Betty Ford celebrate winning the nomination at the Republican National Convention, Kansas City, Missouri, 1976

In 1991, Ford was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George H.W. Bush for her contribution to health issues, with a citation reading, “her courage and candor have inspired millions of Americans to restore their health, protect their dignity, and shape full lives for themselves.” Ford’s ability to influence and advocate so effectively – and to overcome the controversy generated by some of her candor –stemmed from the nation’s introduction to her as an appealing and relatable first lady. While she infused the role of first lady with passionate advocacy, she also embraced her traditional duties with the same enthusiastic energy.  We ALL owe a great debt of gratitude to Betty Ford –we will never forget her! Click here to read the Washington Post’s tribute to Betty Ford. 

Click here to read the Washington Post’s tribute to Betty Ford.

I also was interested to hear more details about the famous suffrage statue that is back in the rotunda. I knew about it, and am probably going to use it as the opening of my biography on Lucy Stone. It is a tragedy that she was not included in the statue since she was every bit as involved in the fight for woman suffrage as those three. I tried to do her justice in my book and also decided what she needs is what I hope will be a good biography well grounded in history. Her absence from the statue is a reminder to how history gets written, who writes it, and how divisiveness and personal issues can interfere with an accurate view of history. I feel honored to be included in this project.”

      -Sally McMillen, scholar/author, Lucy Stone biography Letter to Joan Wages, President, National Women’s History Museum May 20, 2011

We support efforts to develop a national Women’s History Museum and join others in asking Congress to move forward with the idea.

 This week, State Rep. Debbie Phillips outlined details of the plan in a letter she submitted to this newspaper. In her letter, Phillips said the goal of the Women’s History Museum is to make the contribution of women in our country more visible, more mainstream. She points out contributions of women can be found everywhere, yet women’s accomplishments are not prevalent in our nation’s history books or national monuments and parks.

The current proposal calls for a women’s museum adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Phillips also reports no federal money would be sought in the building of this museum. While there is a National Women’s Hall of Fame located in New York, a museum in our nation’s capital is ideal.

Too often, the contributions of minorities in general have been often overlooked in our nation’s history, and women are no exception. We think it’s appropriate to recognize women’s achievements in this way in the hopes that it will then make women’s role in history more prominent and well known by all. It’s our hope that the achievements of the past will inspire the women of the future.

© Copyright 2011 The Marietta Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

May 19, 2011

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© Copyright 2011 The Marietta Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

119th Session, 2011-2012

H. 4183

House Resolution

Sponsors: Reps. Brady, Parks, Thayer, Dillard, Butler Garrick, Erickson, Long, Allison, Neilson, Cobb‑Hunter, Henderson, Horne, Munnerlyn and Nanney

Introduced in the House on May 5, 2011

Adopted by the House on May 5, 2011

A HOUSE RESOLUTION

TO SUPPORT THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON, D. C., IN ORDER TO SECURE A PERMANENT HOME IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL THAT WILL HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANT ROLE WOMEN HAVE PLAYED IN SHAPING THIS GREAT NATION.

Whereas, in 1987, Congress declared March to serve as “Women’s History Month” to acknowledge the important role women have played in shaping the United States of America; and

Whereas, although women constitute a majority of the nation’s population, their achievements and contributions are underrepresented in museums and memorials; and

Whereas, only ten percent of the people identified in a recent survey of eighteen history textbooks were women; and

Whereas, in 1999, The President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in American History called for a women’s history museum to be established on “The National Mall” in Washington, D. C.; and

Whereas, the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), founded in 1996, is a non‑partisan, non‑profit, educational institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women, and integrating the heritage of women fully into the nation’s history; and

Whereas, the NWHM seeks a site on or close to the National Mall and in close proximity to the White House and the United States Capitol Building; and

Whereas, the NWHM has identified a vacant lot that is a federally owned property for sale near the National Mall, located at 12^th Street and Independence Avenue S. W.; and

Whereas, legislation is currently pending in Congress seeking authorization for the NWHM to be able to purchase this property at fair market value with privately raised funds, and no federal funds are being requested for the purchase of this land; and

Whereas, there are museums dedicated to flight, postage stamps, buildings, and many other important people and issues of interest but not to women, yet women comprise fifty‑three percent of the nation’s population; and

Whereas, the NWHM will showcase the full history of women in the United States and the contributions they have made and continue to make in the marketplace, arts and sciences, government, entertainment, education, home, and community; and

Whereas, representing eight million women, a coalition of forty women’s organizations which includes the National Foundation for Women Legislators supports the efforts of the NWHM to establish a permanent residence near the National Mall, the most prominent location for museums to be situated in the nation’s capital.  Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, support the establishment of a National Women’s History Museum in Washington, D. C., in order to secure a permanent home in the nation’s capital that will highlight the important role women have played in shaping this great nation.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the members of the South Carolina Congressional Delegation.

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By: Liz Farmer 05/05/11 8:05 PM

A federal commission is asking Congress to establish a new museum next to the Capitol dedicated to Latino American history and culture.

The report, released Thursday and endorsed by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, calls for Congress to create a museum that would commemorate the fastest-growing population in the country and serve as “a gateway to the National Mall.” It calls for a 50-50 split between private fundraising and federal dollars to raise $600 million over 10 years to plan and build the museum. It also stipulates that no federal funding would be needed for the first six years.

“The commission … recognizes that it must balance two vital priorities: not contributing to any new federal expenditure in the short term, while clearly moving forward with a national museum that integrates the Latino experience into the American narrative,” the report said.

The report was issued by the National Museum of the American Latino Commission, which was established in 2008 by Congress and has 23 members, including actress Eva Longoria.

But getting a new Smithsonian Institution museum is no easy task, and it will likely be more than a decade before ground breaks on a Latino heritage museum. The National Museum of the American Indian was created in 1989 and opened in 2004; the National Museum of African American History and Culture was founded in 2003 and is expected to open in 2015, according to Linda St. Thomas, a Smithsonian spokeswoman.

First, Congress passes legislation founding the museum, then it passes a separate appropriations bill to fund it.

That process “can take years,” and “with the budget situation now, I don’t think one should assume you get all money you ask for each year,” St. Thomas said.

And even though the Latino Museum proposes self-funding for its first six years, the economic climate for nonprofits remains uncertain. The privately funded National Women’s History Museum has been entrenched in its own effort to build a museum on the National Mall since 1996.

The women’s history group is now pushing legislation through Congress that was tabled last session to buy land on the Mall near 12th Street and Independence Avenue.

“One of the reasons we looked at going private was because we thought we could make it happen quicker,” said Joan Wages, the museum president. “It’s a long road either way.”

http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/dc/2011/05/latino-museum-recommended-mall

By LISA HOFFMAN

WASHINGTON – The gaping chasms that are state budget deficits may become the black hole of Internet taxation this year, drawing Congress and some states inexorably into instituting taxes on what you purchase online.

That’s what some analysts expect, viewing the nation’s dismal fiscal balance sheets, which are a powerful lure for a piece of the $188 billion in online retail sales forecast for 2011.

Though taxes may be a toxic topic for lawmakers, especially with the 2012 elections looming, supporters of online taxes portray the issue as one of fairness: Why should out-of-state companies such as Amazon.com and Overstock.com enjoy the unfair advantage of selling products cheaper than the bricks-and-mortar store down the block, which often has to collect local and state taxes on each purchase?

That’s the rationale for the Main Street Fairness Act, a measure that Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., one of the most liberal members of the chamber, is expected to introduce shortly. Sen. Mike Enzi, a fierce Republican from Wyoming, is likely to co-sponsor it.

Look for Walmart, Target and other merchants with actual stores to lobby hard for Durbin’s measure, while eBay, Yahoo and iTunes to mobilize to kill it.

Supporters of a National Women’s History Museum are trying again to get permission from Congress to buy a federally owned plot of land on the edge of the National Mall.

No taxpayer money will be used to create the estimated $50 million museum, which was first brought to Capitol Hill last year, supporters say. What they do need is Congress’ permission to buy a plot of unused land close to the Mall.

A cast of entertainment heavyweights is backing the endeavor, including country singers Trisha Yearwood, Garth Brooks and Lee Ann Womack. The museum’s official spokesperson is actor Meryl Streep, who has personally pledged $1 million to the cause.

Last year, the House and Senate approved the purchase. But later, two GOP senators — Jim DeMint of South Carolina and Tom Coburn of Oklahoma — put a hold on the measure, saying such a museum was unneeded.

There are already 100 museums that chronicle women’s history, Coburn has said, including the National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame in Texas and the Quilters Hall of Fame in Indiana.

Two museum-bill sponsors, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, reintroduced the measure this month.

A much-anticipated Pentagon report on whether the rule barring women from direct combat units should be modified or overturned has missed its deadline.

Scheduled to be delivered to Congress on April 15, the report is now slated to hit Capitol Hill on Oct. 1. At least part of the reason for the delay is to shield the report from becoming a political hand grenade during the battle over the 2012 defense budget, which is expected to be fierce.

Virtually all soundings from the Pentagon brass — with the exception of some in the Marine Corps — is that the doors of war will be opened further for women in uniform, who have been in the thick of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At last count, more than 259,000 women troops have served in those conflicts. The casualty count: 137 killed and 1,758 wounded.

http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/washcall042211/washcall042211/

Printed in The Republic – 4/22/2011

The Gala raised over $23,000 to support the programs and initiatives of the National Women’s History Museum.

NWHM President Joan B. Wages (L), Tanya Young Williams (middle), Janice Kovach (R)

The Museum is embarking on a campaign to build a world-class Museum near the National Mall in Washington, DC. Legislation is pending in Congress that will allow the Museum to purchase a site at 12th and Independence Ave, SW. The Museum is funding the purchase of the land, and the building and operation of the Museum completely through private contributions from donors and supporters. NWHM will receive no money from the federal government.

“New Jersey has been home to trail blazers, from suffragist Alice Paul to Red Cross founder Clara Barton and Academy Award winning actress and NWHM spokesperson, Meryl Streep,” said Museum President Joan Wages in her remarks. “The women of New Jersey have a strength and resilience that defines this great country.”

The New Jersey Regional Council is comprised of people of great accomplishment from throughout the state. Additionally, Governor Chris Christie and Mrs. Mary Pat Christie, Governor Brendan Byrne and Mrs. Ruthi Byrne, Governor Thomas Kean and Mrs. Deborah Kean, Governor Christie Todd Whitman and Mr. John Whitman, Governor Donald DiFrancesco and Mrs. Diane DiFrancesco, Governor James E. McGreevey and Mr. Mark O’Donnell, Governor Richard Codey and Mrs. Mary Jo Codey, Governor Jon Corzine and Mrs. Sharon Levine Corzine, and members of the state legislature joined the efforts to raise awareness of the importance of the Museum.

Senate Majority Leader and New Jersey Regional Council Member Senator Barbara Buono said, “While our politics in Trenton and Washington, D.C. are fractious at the moment, it is a testament to our shared belief in the educational goals of the museum that my colleagues and I have come together to support this wonderful effort.”

The Museum would like to thank the New Jersey Regional Council Members: Senator Barbara Buono, Councilwoman Mildred Crump, Karen Kominsky, Jeannine LaRue, and Jason Casesse. A special thanks to our NJ Co-Chair, Joan Verplank, and Chairwoman, Janice Kovach for their commitment to the Museum and the many hours of hard work that went into making the gala a smashing success.

If you are interested in joining the Museum, joining a Regional Council in your area, or forming a Regional Council, please contact Sally Anderson at sanderson@nwhm.org, or 703-461-1920.

By: James Cullum

Men have written much of history, and the National Women’s History Museum wants to change that. 

For the past three years, President and CEO Joan Wages has run the museum from a small office on South Whiting Street on Alexandria’s West End. A bill, which would provide the museum with a vacant lot near the National Mall, was recently approved by the House of Representatives and is proceeding to the Senate floor for a vote. 

After 20 years, the museum may soon have a prominent location to call home. But history could repeat itself.

“A majority of the population is not represented on the National Mall,” Wages said. “And I would not say that Julia Child’s kitchen and the First Ladies’ dresses are a sufficient coverage of women’s history. They’re absolutely wonderful, but there is just so much more. Millions come to Washington D.C. every year because of its extensive list of museums, because it is the beacon to the world for how a democracy looks and functions. So, for us to have a museum honoring women on or adjacent to the National Mall sends a message to the world.”

Last year, a similar bill passed the House, but was held up by Republican senators Jim DeMint (S.C.) and Tom Coburn (Okla.). This year’s bill would allow the museum to buy land at 12th Street and Independence Avenue at fair market value from the General Services Administration. The Museum would be across the street from the National Gallery of Art and the National Air and Space Museum.  

Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) introduced the House version of the bill. 

“Of the 210 statues in the United States Capitol, only nine are of female leaders,” Maloney said. “Less than five percent of the 2,400 national historic landmarks chronicle women’s achievement.” 

Support from movie stars like Meryl Streep certainly help the cause. Streep became the Museum’s national spokesperson after Wages wrote her a letter. 

Last week, the museum partnered with Good Housekeeping for the second annual “Shine On” awards to honor exceptional women at Radio City Music Hall. When asked on the Radio City red carpet who inspired her, Streep told a reporter: “Joan Wages inspires me!” 

“She is immensely kind and thoughtful,” Wages said. “She just gets the importance of a museum like this that will honor women and show that they have contributed to the building of this nation in ways that they have not, to this date, been given credit.”

And who is Wage’s hero? “Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to graduate from medical school in the U.S.,” she said. “In the mid 19th century, she applied to 19 medical schools and they all turned her down. When she finally was accepted, she showed up to be admitted and they told her that her admission was a joke. But she held their feet to the fire, and demanded to be admitted. She was ostracized, ridiculed, pressured to fail and she held her ground with great dignity and graduate at the top of her class.”

http://www.alextimes.com/news/2011/apr/21/meryl-streeps-hero-in-alexandria/

April 15, 2011                                                                                                                              202-224-4751

SENATOR COLLINS’ BILL TO CREATE NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM ONE STEP CLOSER TO REALITY

Legislation Passed Unanimously out of Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Susan Collins’ legislation that would pave the way for a National Women’s History Museum on a site near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. passed late yesterday unanimously out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.  The Museum would honor the Great Lady from Maine, Margaret Chase Smith, and other groundbreaking women throughout history.

Senator Collins, along with a bipartisan group of her colleagues; Senators Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Tex., introduced the legislation last month that directs the current land owner, the General Services Administration, to sell the property to the Museum for fair market value and then the Museum will develop the site at 12th Street and Independence Avenue, SW.
“A women’s history museum is long overdue in the nation’s capital,” said Senator Collins. “It would be the first institution in the region that showcases the many important social, economic, cultural, and political contributions that women have made to our country.
“The Museum would help ensure that future generations understand what we owe to the many generations of American women-like my role model, Margaret Chase Smith– that helped build, sustain, and advance our society. It is a great use for an empty lot on our National Mall, and it makes good fiscal sense.
“It is important to note that taxpayers will not shoulder the funding of this project. The proposed legislation calls for no new federal program and no new claims on the budget. The bill would simply direct the General Services Administration to negotiate and enter into an occupancy agreement with the National Women’s History Museum, Inc. to establish a Museum on a tract of land near the Smithsonian Museums, close to the National Mall.
“In fact, the Museum would be putting dollars in the federal government’s pocket in order to occupy this space because the transaction would be at fair market value. This bill would be a win-win for the taxpayers and the Museum,” concluded Senator Collins.

Under Senator Collins’ bill, the National Women’s History Museum organization would be completely responsible for the design and construction of the museum. It is estimated that such a museum would draw more than 1.5 million visitors to the nation’s capital each year.
Senators Patty Murray, D-Wash., Olympia Snowe, R-Me., Mary Landrieu, D-La., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mi., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Lisa Murkowski, R-Ak., Jeanne Shaheen, D-Nh., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-Ny., Kelly Ayotte, R-Nh., Dianne Feinstein, D-Ca., Kay Hagan, D-Nc., Amy Klobuchar, D-Mn., Claire McCaskill, D-Ms., Joe Lieberman, ID-Ct., Daniel Akaka, D-Hi., Mark Pryor, D-Ark., Jeff Merkley, D-Or., and Mark Begich, D-Ak., are also co-sponsoring this legislation.

The legislation will now proceed to the Senate floor for a vote. 

###

Bipartisan legislation which would establish a National Museum of Women’s History on the National Mall in Washington was announced last week by Congressmember Carolyn Maloney (DQueens/ Manhattan).

The lawmaker acknowledged the announcement came soon after the death of her mentor, former Congressmember Geraldine Ferraro, who was hailed throughout the nation and the world for her achievements on behalf of women during her lifetime.

“It is a sad coincidence,” said Maloney, “that my mentor, Geraldine Ferraro, died the week we planned to reintroduce this legislation. Hers is just one story that the museum will honor, along with Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to the U.S. House; Hattie Wyatt Caraway, the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate; and Margaret Chase Smith, the first woman elected to both the House and the Senate.”

Maloney also noted, “The 235 years of our nation’s history are replete with women who have been trailblazers, from Abigail Adams to Kristi Yamaguchi, but there is no institution dedicated to chronicling half our population’s stories. Our sons and daughters need to know these stories.”

Describing the situation that has persisted for centuries, she stated, “Of the 210 statues in the U.S. Capitol, only nine are of women. Of the 2,400 national historic landmarks in the country, only five percent document women’s achievements. So a National Women’s History Museum that will celebrate, honor and document the roles women have played in American life is long overdue.”

Maloney, who joined with Congressmember Judy Biggert (R-Illinois) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) in sponsoring the historic measure, said it authorizes the General Services Administration to sell property located at 12th Street and Independence Avenue to non-profit organizations which would raise the funds to build and operate the museum.

Biggert said that should not be a problem. “Thanks to the generous support of private contributors all across the country, the dream of a national museum dedicated to honoring the contributions of American women is close to becoming a reality,” said Biggert.

She added, “This is an exciting opportunity to create a permanent educational institution here in Washington that will serve as an inspiration to the millions of young women and girls who visit our nation’s capital each year. I look forward to working with Representative Maloney, Senator Collins and all of my colleagues to send this bill to the president’s [Obama’s] desk.”

Collins noted, “A women’s history museum is long overdue in the nation’s capital. It would be the first institution in the region that showcases the many important social, economic, cultural and political contributions that women have made to our country. And all this could be done at virtually no cost to taxpayers.”

Collins added that the museum would help ensure that future generations understand what is owed to past generations of women that helped to build our society and nation.

Collins emphasized that there would be no taxpayer funds involved in the undertaking. The legislation, she explained, simply directs the General Services Administration to negotiate and enter into an occupancy agreement with the National Women’s History Museum to establish a museum on a tract of land near the Smithsonian Museum located at 12th Street SW and Independence Avenue SW in Washington, D.C.

As a matter of fact, she said, the Museum would be enriching the government by occupying the space because the land would be purchased at full market value.

“This bill would be a win-win for the taxpayers and the Museum,” Collins said.

The bill has 11 Democratic and six Republican co-sponsors in the House and three Senate co-sponsors. Similar legislation passed the House in the 111th Congress, but died in the Senate. The project was established and will be funded by the National Women’s History Museum.