March is Women’s History Month. It’s a time to remember and pay tribute to the many women throughout history who have contributed to making the world a better place. So how do we celebrate women?
Students in Portland State’s senior capstone course, Monumental Women, are commemorating Oregon women’s suffrage by leading a walking tour of downtown Portland, titled “In Her Steps,” on March 13 and 15.
The tours will “focus on the women, men and organizations that worked to pass women’s suffrage or those who opposed extending that right to women,” according to the press release. Women were granted the right to vote in 1912—eight years before the 19th Amendment enfranchised all American women. It’s a worthwhile reminder; it should be one of many things people do to celebrate women—not just for one month, but every day.
Student work from the course has contributed to the educational kiosk at the Walk of the Heroines, which most PSU students know is an educational park on Southwest 11th Avenue (behind the Millar Library) that honors women artistically. The kiosk displays heroine stories, gardens, artistic paving, sculptures, a fountain, a stage and naming walls.
The Walk of the Heroines extends the educational mission of PSU’s Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program into the community by stating the project’s philosophy. In addition to providing an educational space, the Walk of the Heroines Educational Fund supports student scholarships and an annual public lecture.
The Monumental Women course is taught by Janice Dilg, an active and enthusiastic historian of women and labor in the Pacific Northwest and the project director for the Century of Action: Oregon Women Vote 1912–2012. Century of Action celebrates 100 years of Oregon women’s right to vote and advances the understanding of women’s citizenship in Oregon’s history.
Dilg encouraged PSU students to participate in the tours “because they focus on what life was like when half of the population did not have the right to have their opinion heard or be counted.”
She said the tour tells the story of the women and men who struggled for more than 40 years and through five unsuccessful elections before their right to vote was realized. According to Dilg, learning how long the struggle to gain suffrage took could be a good reminder to young voters about what it was like when that basic right was denied.
And if women’s suffrage in Oregon interests you, the newest release from PSU’s Ooligan Press might also appeal. Blue Thread is a novel about the fictional woman, Miriam Josefsohn, a 16-year-old suffragist in 1912 Portland who demands rights for women and a different life for herself. It’s a great read, and coincides perfectly with Oregon’s suffrage centennial.
March is a great month to show support for women and for PSU. Listen in on a walking tour and let the Monumental Women students educate you about Oregon women’s suffrage. You might even be interested in joining the class—it’s offered once a year in winter term, so keep it in mind. Visit the Walk of the Heroines and read through some of the names of influential women that are carved on the naming walls.
Pick up a copy of Blue Thread and experience the struggle for women’s rights as if you were there. Check out Century of Action’s website, where you can find more women’s news and events like the Sash Project (“Put a sash on it!”). There are lots of ways to celebrate women this month—go out and participate!