Women’s History Month Celebrates Triumphs

Molly Murphy MacGregor thought being a woman was something to be proud of, something to be celebrated. That’s why in 1978 she helped launch a one-day event in Sonoma County to honor women and their achievements.

Three years after that, National Women’s History Week was started as support for the idea of celebrating women and their contributions to American life grew. In 1987, National Women’s History Month was born with a Congressional proclamation.

March is National Women’s History Month. Southland events scheduled to mark the monthlong celebration include art exhibits, theatrical presentations, special award programs and seminars on topics that reflect this year’s theme--”Courageous Voices Echoing in Our Lives.”

The theme “really speaks to the spirit of and the action of the women who have proceeded us,” MacGregor says. Women, she says, need “to realize that they are part of that continuity.”

MacGregor heads up the National Women’s History Project in Windsor, Calif., which promotes the rediscovery of women’s history by creating resource materials for schools, churches and businesses.

The celebration honors more than famous women, MacGregor says. “We want to say we are recognizing all women, all cultural backgrounds . . . women who work outside the home and inside the home, young and old--all women.”

Susan Rose, executive director of the Los Angeles City Commission on the Status of Women, says: “There really is a need to recognize the achievements of women, and the fact here is that their contribution--the role of American women in history--had been consistently overlooked and undervalued, both in history and literature, throughout the social sciences that we study. . . . This is a real effort to recognize their accomplishments and achievements.”

The commission serves as an advocate on women’s issues such as child care, sexual harassment in the workplace and empowerment of women of color.

“There’s a statement of purpose around Women’s History Month that talks about the critical role women have played as part of the labor force, the unique role they have played as volunteers, their participation in the establishment of early charitable and cultural institutions in our country,” Rose says.

“We look at March as a time to celebrate, and that’s the underlying approach to Women’s History (Month): to recognize and celebrate womens’ achievements. The more we recognize . . . women’s accomplishments and achievements, I think the more that will be significant for young girls who need role models to follow.”

Here is a sampling of Women’s History Month events around the Southland:

* March 12-April 13: “Images and Reflections of Women Artists,” a showcase of work by 95 Los Angeles women artists, features works ranging from traditional to avant-garde. The exhibit is in the Los Angeles City Hall Bridge Gallery and Rotunda, 200 N. Spring St., during City Hall business hours. Opening ceremonies and a reception, which are open to the public, are Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. Free. For information, call the L.A. City Commission on the Status of Women, (213) 485-6533.

* March 13: “Coming Into Passion/Song for a Sensei,” a one-woman show by Jude Narita depicts vignettes in the life of Asian-American women, 8 p.m., University Student Union, Cal State Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff St. Admission: $2 for students; $5 for non-students. Information: (818) 885-2780.

* March 14: The Los Angeles City Council will recognize “Women Pioneers” of 1990 at a 10 a.m. council meeting. Fifteen women, one from each council district, will be honored for community involvement.

* March 15: Pasadena Community College and Glendale Community College will present “Quilters,” a student musical production that salutes the courage and spirit of America’s pioneer women. Performances will be held at PCC, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, and GCC, 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale.

At PCC, a benefit for the school’s child-care program will include dinner at 5 p.m. and the play, in Sexson Auditorium, at 7. Reservations required. Tickets are $15, $25, $50. Encore presentations, at $6, will be March 16 and 17 at 8 p.m. and March 17 at 2 p.m. Call (818) 578-7086.

GCC will present the play March 22, 23, 24 and 25 at 8 p.m., and March 24 and 25 at 2 p.m. All performances are in the auditorium. Call (818) 240-1000, Ext. 276. Tickets $6.

March 15: The Long Beach chapter of the National Organization for Women presents a Women’s History Month program at Unitarian Church, near Bellflower Boulevard and Atherton Street, Long Beach, 7:30 p.m. Information: (213) 494-3365.

March 16: “Public/Private Herstory” is the theme for a new art exhibition at the Woman’s Building, 1727 N. Spring St., Los Angeles. A reception will be held 6-9 p.m. Free. Information and directions: (213) 221-6161.

* March 17: State Sen. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) will speak at the 13th annual Women’s Conference, presented by the Pasadena Commission on the Status of Women at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Registration: $15 in advance, $17 at the door. Free child care available with refundable deposit. Information: (818) 796-6926.

* March 20: “Women in Central America” is the topic of a slide show presentation by Lisa Sherwood of the Committee in Solidarity With the People of El Salvador; 7 p.m., Cal State Northridge Women’s Center, 9428 Etiwanda Ave. Information: (818) 885-2780.

* March 24: “The Ever-Changing Family Portrait: Single Parenting, the New Therapeutic Frontier” will be the topic for seminars from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Cal State Fullerton, 800 State College Blvd., Residence Hall Multipurpose Room. Information: (714) 773-3928.

* March 27: Dr. Sandra L. Myres, author of “Westering Women and the Frontier Experience” and “Ho! for California,” addresses the topic “Women on the Santa Fe Trail” at 8 p.m., Forum, Pasadena City College, 1570 E. Colorado Blvd. Information: (818) 578-7086.

* March 29: “Women and the Irish Civil Rights Movement” features Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, former member of British Parliament; 7 p.m., Kreider Hall, Glendale Community College, 1500 N. Verdugo Road. Information: (818) 240-1000.

* March 30: Folk music legend Odetta is featured in “You Can’t Kill the Spirit,” a dramatization of women’s struggles in America; 8 p.m., Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 4401 W. 8th St., Los Angeles. The show is a benefit for the Multicultural Alliance for Reproductive Freedom and the Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research. Tickets $15, $30, $60 and $100. Information: (213) 759-6063.

* March 30-31: The 1990 Region IX Conference of the National Assn. of Commissions for Women, Gene Autry Hotel, Palm Springs, hosted by the Riverside County Commission for Women. Information: (619) 325-1047.

* March 30-31: “Creating a Common Ground: Cultural Identity and Choice” is the theme for a conference sponsored by the Multicultural Alliance for Reproductive Freedom at the First United Methodist Church of Hollywood, 6817 Franklin Ave. Luncheon March 30 at 11:30 p.m. March 31 activities include workshops on such topics as “Grass-Roots Organizing for Reproductive Freedom,” “Learning How to Use Political Power” and “The Impact of Spousal Abuse,” 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Registration: $5; multicultural community fair, noon-7 p.m. on church grounds; entertainment, poets and musicians, 7:30 p.m. Information: (213) 462-4006.

And in Sacramento, the Assembly plans to honor 80 women for their community achievements. All members of the Assembly will pick one woman from their districts. The honorees will attend a special ceremony in the Assembly chambers on March 26.