NWHP Blog: Events and Articles posted by people like YOU

Women’s Journey Conference – May 8, 2010

Thea Iberall — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 18:35:45 +0000

The Women’s Journey Conference is dedicated to bringing three generations of women together for a day of empowering, enter

Saturday, May 8th, 2010 Rose Center Theatre Westminster, CA

Please contact us with any questions that you may have.

Women of Color Now

sis — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:46:29 +0000

April 8, 2010
2:00 pm
2:00 pm
April 8, 2010	to	May 8, 2012

I was offended viewing the bookmark that the only woman of color was a slave or from that error. Many many African American Women have made great strides for women all around. Why does injecting slavery images or pass ills that tried to destroy us in this Country a must when discussing or advertising women progress. Yes, slavery was real, but do you really think African American women want to be reminded of it continually? I picked up so many markers to give out in school and my church. I have since rethought that process and discarded the bookmarks. In the time of Tea Party, celebrating ill grains of slavery by proclaiming a confederate month in Virginia, I truly feel “women” need to embrace not just one type of African American Woman, but the whole group of us who have suffered greatly and yet are marvelously rebuilding ourselves and our families in spite of the hatemonger. Any woman who comes from the lineage we have are proud and we would hope that others would start to embrace and respect us, we are powerful group, and need I write how “we” AA Women shaped this Country?

More on Workplace Flexibility

Lisa Frederiksen — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:44:53 +0000

Two-thirds of American families have all available parents in the workplace, and yet, the workplace – in many cases – still has not implemented policies nor adopted a company philosophy that allows employees to balance the demands of two full time jobs (work and raising children/managing a household).

On March 31, 2010, President Barak Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and the White House Council on Women and Girls hosted a daylong summit at the White House, inviting organized labor, small business and large company leaders, policy experts and parents to discuss best practices for bringing about workplace flexibility – unprecedented! And, it was not just about flexibility for parents — flexibility to incorporate quality of life issues for all employees was part of the discussion, as well.

Quoting from the President’s remarks:

“Now, it’s true that women are still disproportionately affected by this issue…. But plenty of fathers out there wish they had more time to spend with their kids. Plenty of sons wish they could do more for their elderly parents. Plenty of workers — both women and men — wish they could go back to school so they can beef up their skills and advance their careers. And there are plenty of communities that desperately need the new jobs we can create when we embrace teleworking and mobile workplaces.”

The time is to act is NOW. Get involved with this effort. Here are some links that can help:

Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Flex Options website, www.flexoptions.org.

Office of the President – Work Life Balance and the Economics of Workplace Flexitility report.

9to5 advocacy group

MomsRising.org advocay group

Historic Preservation in America

admin — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 14:47:18 +0000

Federal agencies are responsible for ensuring that their programs comply with Federal, State, and local laws concerning protection of historic properties. We recognize the value of irreplaceable historic cultural resources and are committed to protecting them from damage. Numerous federal laws have been passed to protect these resources. It is the federal government’s position that historic resources provide important benefits to the American people and that the government should provide leadership in the preservation of the historic resources of the United States.

The importance of Historic Preservation was not always recognized or practiced in our country. The first effort to protect our nation’s historical heritage was assumed in 1853 in the person of a frail, sickly young woman named Ann Pamela Cunningham. Ann’s Mother, South Carolina socialite Louise Dalton Bird Cunningham witnessed the deteriorated condition of George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate while cruising the Potomac River. Appalled at the condition of the estate, Cunningham wrote to her daughter, “If the men of America have seen fit to allow the home of its most respected hero to go to ruin, why can’t the women of America band together to save it?”

In the five decades since George Washington died at his beloved Mount Vernon estate, ownership of the proud and stately mansion passed to a series of family members who were overwhelmed by the financial responsibility of maintaining the property. Washington’s great-great nephew, John A. Washington owned the estate and wanted to sell it with the proviso that it be preserved as a historic site.

In response to her Mother’s question, Ann Pamela Cunningham ignited the preservation movement when she invited influential women from each of the thirty states to serve as Vice-Regents of the newly formed Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, the first national women’s organization in America. The Association earned support of important political and financial leaders and was finally able to take possession of Mount Vernon in 1860.

Struggling to finance restoration and maintenance of the estate, efforts were soon to be interrupted by the Civil War. Cunningham directed that an appeal be made to the commanders of both Union and Confederate forces to give a pledge for the safety of Mount Vernon; both as a reward to the ladies of America and as a tribute to the Father of his Country. Throughout the Civil War, Mount Vernon was held sacred by both armies.

After the war, fund raising and restoration began anew; original pieces of furniture were obtained and returned to their previous rooms. Analysis of paint layers restored the hues chosen by George Washington. Today, Mount Vernon appears much as it did over 200 years ago.

The original vision of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association has established the foundation of historical preservation in the United States. In her farewell address to the Association in 1874, Ann Pamela Cunningham wrote:

Ladies, the home of Washington is in your charge – see to it that you keep it the home of Washington. Let no irreverent hand change it; no vandals hands desecrate it with the fingers of progress. Those who go to the home in which he lived and died wish to see in what he lived and died. Let one spot in this grand country of ours be saved from change. Upon you rests this duty.”

(Submitted by Dane Bowerman)

Time to give thanks to the women of Valley Forge

Lancette — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:44:44 +0000

(Courtesy Fine Books & Collections magazine)

Sometimes a book comes along, smacks readers in the head, alleviates our ignorance, and leaves us with a new perspective on something we thought we already knew.

That’s what happened when I read Following the Drum: Women at the Valley Forge Encampment (Potomac Books, 2009) by former historic interpreter Nancy Loane. The title is too modest in conveying the scope and power of the book. It doesn’t fully capture the idea that the work adds colorful, riveting details to the basic portrait of the American Revolution that hangs in our minds … elements that help give us a more complete, accurate picture. The title doesn’t deliver the punch of the easy-to-digest 164 pages: We owe an enormous debt of gratitude not just to the men who fought in the Revolutionary War but to the women whose sweat and sacrifice also forged our freedoms.

Much of the book is focused on the wide range of roles women played in what happened at Valley Forge.

Women of high social class like Martha Washington provided great comfort to her commander-in-chief husband George Washington while women of the “common sort” performed countless thankless chores that helped the army survive. They ran household headquarters for officers so that they could remain focused on developing strategies to win the war. They cooked for exhausted soldiers, made clothing to help protect them from the elements, cleaned the camp to help slay the biggest enemy at Valley Forge — the range of ailments caused by unsanitary conditions. More bravely, they risked their own lives by nursing diseased soldiers.

Following the Drum would be worth reading even if it stopped right there. The book, however, is full of surprises — some sweet, others sorrowful.

Discover more about them in a longer review.

Women & the arts & history in South Carolina

eatgoodbread — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:44:04 +0000

from the Lowcountry of South Carolina:

Claudette Humphrey, a resident of Cat Island and vice president of the board of the Arts Council of Beaufort County was honored on Sunday, March 28th for her leadership in the arts. Her honor was bestowed by the Hestelle Woodbury Women’s Missionary Society of the Grace Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church, on Charles Street in downtown Beaufort, along with four other women for their achievements in Business, Community, Education and Social Services. This recognition of Women’s power and influence is a part of Women’s History Month, celebrating the national theme of “Writing Women Back Into History.”

Claudette’s enthusiasm for the arts goes way back to the 1970s when teaching first graders in New Rochelle, New York, where she joined other arts-minded teachers in yearlong workshops at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan and Julliard School. She immersed herself in New York arts culture inviting all the arts– from dance to drama and from painting to poetry– daily into her classroom and into her life. Her years of living in California, Hawaii, New York, and now Beaufort are credited for the colors, themes and the vistas that are reflected in her paintings.
In addition to her support for the arts council, Claudette exhibits her work at the Red Piano Too Gallery, and is an exhibiting member of the Beaufort Art Association, and the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce. She is past president of Chums Inc., past president of the American Association of University Women, chairwoman of Board of Directors of Access Network Inc., and president of the Friends Affiliate of Head Start. Claudette also volunteers in the public schools, mentoring young girls and teaching them her love & appreciation of the arts. She has worked on different fundraising projects at Penn Center, the arts council, and Access Network Inc. a HIV/Aids organization. She recently launched her own website, ArtbyClaudette.com, after graduating from the business development program at the Technical College of the Lowcountry and the Small Business Hub the FastTrac New Venture program.

Claudette’s achievements are vivid proof that the arts are integral to strong creative leadership and vital to healthy community progress.

Help With Creating Flex Time Policies in the Workplace

Lisa Frederiksen — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:43:08 +0000

For those who want to implement flex-options in the workplace, the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor has created an excellent website of resources, www.flexoptions.org. This site provides the research, resources and tools that business owners need in order to implement workplace flexibility policies. Quoting from their website,

Business owners understand the desire of today’s workforce to have more flexibility in their work schedules. After all, many entrepreneurs chose the path of business ownership to provide themselves with more control and flexibility in managing their own personal lives.

Across the U.S., companies are realizing that workplace flexibility can help them address today’s most pressing issues in keeping employees engaged; offering options in lieu of layoffs during tough economic times; planning for emergencies such as natural disasters, pandemics and other crisis situations; and contributing to environmental sustainability by decreasing one’s carbon footprint.

In 2009, President Obama created the first White House Council on Women and Girls to make it clear that issues like equal pay, family leave and child care are not just woemn’s issues, but family and economic issues, as well. This website goes a long way to helping businesses implement the important workplace policies that can assist with these efforts.

March 26-27, 2010 INSPIRING WOMEN exhibition

jennyswadosh — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 14:42:15 +0000

Inspiring Women: Selected Designers from Parsons’ Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Archives

As students, teachers, mentors and professionals, women from Parsons have been at the forefront of design study and practice since the school’s founding in 1896. INSPIRING WOMEN offers glimpses into the education and professional lives of 16 women who attended and taught at Parsons between the 1910s and the 1990s. Through original design work, photographs, notebooks, publicity materials, correspondence, clippings and business records, INSPIRING WOMEN explores changes in the worlds of graphic, interior and fashion design over the course of the 20th century, changes often spearheaded by Parsons’ women as they broke new creative and professional ground, mentored and promoted one another, experimented with new modes of representation, and won expanded opportunity and recognition for women in design.

INSPIRING WOMEN is being held in conjunction with the conference, NO LONGER IN EXILE: The Legacy and Future of Gender Studies at The New School, which will take place adjacent to the exhibit in the Theresa Lang Center, March 26-27, 2010. This exhibition was made possible in part with support from Parsons’ School of Art and Design History and Theory.

Exhibition held at The New School, 55 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY and continuing from March 29-May 31 at Gimbel Library, Parsons The New School for Design
2 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor.

FREE. For more information, please contact kac [at] newschool.edu

SCFG Celebrates Women’s History Month

hspark19 — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:55:08 +0000

As the theme for Women History Month 2010 is “Writing Women Back Into History,” the Science Club for Girls invites you to the celebration by contributing a “Letter to My Younger Self.”

SCFG hopes to aspire young girls and give them the self-confidence through these letters. These words of encouragement have continuously been a great source of encouragement to the girls and the organization is grateful to all those women who have contributed their personal story.

This project is just one of the many programs sponsored by SCFG to encourage girls from kindergarten through 6th grade to become future scientists. The organization also sponsors several free, hands-on after-school science clubs that meet once a week at public schools, community centers, and churches in Cambridge, Newton, Boston, and Lawrence.

Women’s History on HistoryNet

Gerald D. Swick — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:54:37 +0000

The National Women’s History Project is a wonderful idea. The varied roles women have played in the home, on the battlefield, in the worlds of business, medicine, law, politics and much more were largely hidden until fairly recent times. Although significantly more information about women’s history is readily available today than it was just a few decades ago, there is still much more to learn, explore and discuss, and this site should go a long way to help that along.

I’d like to let you know that HistoryNet Website recently added a special section on Women’s History. HistoryNet is part of the Weider History Group, the largest history-oriented magazine publisher in the world, and this special section will help visitors more easily find many articles that originally appeared in magazines such as American History, Wild West, Military History, Vietnam, etc. The site also invites visitors to add to a list of recommended books and other reference resources on women’s history and to name some personal favorites among historical women. These comments can help determine future original content.

The Women’s History section can be found at http://www.historynet.com/topics/womens-history

The National Women’s History Project is one of HistoryNet’s recommended resources, by the way. HistoryNet thank its organizers for allowing us to share this information with its visitors.