A VOICE OF THEIR OWN
A Centennial Celebration of a Women’s Newspaper

THE EXHIBITION
A Voice of Their Own, currently on view at The Polish Museum of America, 984 Milwaukee, Chicago, until February 26, 2011, celebrates the centennial of the Glos Polek (The Polish Women’s Voice), the official publication of the Polish Women’s Alliance of America (PWA), Chicago, one of the oldest and largest women’s organizations in the U.S. The publication is also one of the oldest newspapers in the U.S. that is owned and managed by women and still in circulation after 100 years.

The Exhibition presents front pages, articles, and photographs selected from the newspaper archives that tell a unique and inspiring story of journalism, feminism, immigration, activism, and the fight for self-determination.

The stories in the newspaper illustrate the historic events that shaped the world over the last 100 years. Against the backdrop of women’s struggles to assume their equal place in society — including the right to vote, make their own financial decisions, pursue higher education, and enter professions — and against the backdrop of the global struggle to defeat fascism and communism and to win independence for Poland, the pages of the Glos Polek chronicle the stories of ordinary women rising to meet the extraordinary challenges of their time.

MEMBERS OF PWA
Honorary Members of Polish Women’s Alliance include Nobel Prize laureate Marie Curie Sklodowska, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, and WWII hero Irena Sendler, among others. Their biographies are also a part of the Exhibition.

PHOTOGRAPHS
See photographs of the Exhibition here:

http://www.pwaa.org/what_new2.htm#POLISH_MUSEUM

Learn more here: www.pwaa.org

FUNDING
Provided by the Polish Women’s Alliance of America Educational & Charitable Foundation, a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council, and private contributions.