33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women's History

by BOLDEN, TONYA

• ISBN13: 9780375811227
• ISBN10: 0375811222
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-02-12
• Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers

Summary

Here's the perfect book for anyone interested in learning more about girls and women in the United States from the 18th century to the present. Featuring contributions from a wide variety of women, including well-known nonfiction writers, a children's librarian, historians, and many more, this latest addition to the 33 Things series provides an engaging, inspiring, informative look at the role women have played in shaping American history.

Author Biography

Tonya Bolden is the author of the children's book <i> Through Loona's Door: A Tammy and Owen Adventure with Carte G. Woodson</i>. Her books for teenagers include the novels <i> Mama, I Want to Sing </i> (co-authored with Vy Higginsen) and <i> Just Family; </i> the anthology <i> Rites of Passage: Stories About Growing Up by Black Writers from Around the World; </i> and a collection of biographies of ten epic women, <i> And Not Afraid to Dare. </i> Her books for grownups include <i> The Book of African American Women: 150 Crusaders, Creators, and Uplifters </i>. She is a native New Yorker.

Table of Contents

FYI	8	(2)
Past Is Prologue	10	(2)
Elizabeth Johnson
``Revolutionary Petunias'' Bloomed in Early America	12	(2)
Abigail Adams
The Women's Declaration	14	(9)
Coline Jenkins-Sahlin
Girls Were Once Happy for Homework	23	(5)
M. Carey Thomas
``The Yellow Wallpaper''	28	(16)
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The Women Once Vetoed Later Voted	44	(10)
Patricia C. McKissack
Women Were in the West	54	(8)
Natasha Tarpley
U.S. Women Are Diverse	62	(3)
Suheir Hammad
The Legacy of Wise Words	65	(4)
Rosalie Maggio
The Landmarks of Our Lives	69	(5)
Marsha Weinstein
``Don't Agonize, Organize!''	74	(10)
Ann Decker
What Women Did Before NOW	84	(7)
Shana Corey
Labor Pains Have Been Intense	91	(7)
Safiya Henderson-Holmes
In World War II, Women Got to Work	98	(6)
Betsy Kuhn
Why Eleanor Roosevelt (1884--1962) Still Rules	104	(6)
Kathleen Krull
The ``Representing''	110	(5)
Elisabeth Griffith
Life Is Sometimes a Fashion Parade	115	(6)
Ilene Beckerman
The Ladies' Pages	121	(5)
Norma Johnston
Beauty Can Be a Beast	126	(4)
Ophira Edut
Girl Groups Mean Girl Power	130	(6)
Ann Powers
Title IX Helped Level the Playing Field	136	(4)
Fritz Beshar
Who Was First, and Why It Matters	140	(6)
Sue Macy
Women Weren't Always in the Books	146	(4)
Nancy Gruver
Time Matters	150	(11)
E. Susan Barber
The Facets of Feminism	161	(6)
Paula A. Treckel
Men Can Be Feminists, Too	167	(2)
Nomas
The Roll Call of Crusaders	169	(7)
Fran Ellers
You Can Read All About It!	176	(9)
Kathleen Odean
Women's Health Matters Didn't Always Matter	185	(4)
Magee Hickey
Body Politics	189	(4)
Anastasia Higginbotham
The Making of a DollarDiva™ (Or, How Did We Get Here???!??)	193	(7)
Joline Godfrey
The ERA That's Yet to Come	200	(6)
Roberta W. Francis
A Herstory of Language	206	(4)
Judy Dothard Simmons
Glossary	210	(6)
About the Contributors	216	(14)
Acknowledgments	230	(2)
Picture Acknowledgments	232	(1)
Index	233

Excerpts

by Elizabeth Johnson

Past Is Prologue
When the earth was created
your ancestors gave respect to their ancestors.
They knew where they came from,
but do you?
You can't really call yourself a girl
without knowing what it really means to be a girl.
Being a girl is having the strength and wisdom of
Mary McLeod Bethune, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Rita Moreno.
You're feminine-less
for knowing less than you should about
Jane Addams, Sojourner Truth, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Frieclan, and Wilma
Mankiller.
You should know that Anna Mae Aquash was martyred
for fighting for the rights
she knew her people deserved.
And that Ming-Na has helped create a diverse Hollywood.
And every published woman should know that
Phillis Wheatley was one of the first published women in the United States,
and her words inspired George Washington.
Oh, you know who Mr. Washington is.

But the women who paved the way for you to be
a doctor,
a lawyer,
a writer,
an actress,
or a journalist aren't a part of your everyday story.
That's because you don't see the relevance of Gloria Steinem marching through
America
for woman's rights,
you just see that you have rights.
And you don't know why Dorothy Dandridge changed the movies, or
why Marilyn Monroe was so beautiful.
But you do know that JFK was a president loved by many,
and that Lincoln was assassinated.
You know the exact date Pearl Harbor was bombed.
But you don't know the battles your mother,
grandmother, and great-grand mother waged so you could live a better life.
You can't go anywhere in this world
really
without knowing where you as a woman have been.
To all the ferninine-lesses of the 21st century-
With every HisStory is HerStory,
find yours out before it's too late.

---

Excerpted from 33 Things Every Girl Should Know about Women's History: From Suffragettes to Skirt Lengths to the E.R.A.
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.