Women's History

In the 1920s, a group of D.C. women formed the Anti-Flirt Club to put a stop to the increasingly annoying, and at times dangerous, problem of men harassing women from motor vehicles and street corners. 

Washington, DC, has been home to countless larger-than-life political figures. But perhaps no other Washingtonian has had such a long-lasting—and underappreciated impact—on American popular culture and politics as Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the eldest child of President Theodore Roosevelt.

In 1960, a new drug called thalidomide arrived for review at the FDA. Assuming the popular European drug would be a routine application, supervisors assigned its approval to their newest hire, Dr. Frances Kelsey. The drug's manufacturers claimed total safety and zero side effects, but Dr. Kelsey stood firm, demanding clinical data to prove their claims. And, in doing so, saved the United States from a public health catastrophe.

Despite the intense application process and the curriculum’s rigorous Baptist philosophy which left little room for error, a diploma from the National Training School for Women and Girls opened doors once unimaginable to its students. Its principal and founder, Nannie Helen Burroughs, was no less intense, trailblazing, and ingenious herself.

Though Rosa Parks may be the face of peaceful resistance to segregation on public transportation, she was not the first to adopt the strategy. Claudette Colvin, Ellen Harris, Maggie Lena Walker, Ida B. Wells, and Charlotte Brown are just some of the individuals who took a stand against racist policies enacted after the Civil War. In Washington, D.C., one of these civil rights activists whose name has been almost forgotten was Barbara Pope. In 1906, she claimed her right to remain in the first-class seat which she had paid for, rather than be moved to the segregated car.

In the 1920s, entrepreneur Hattie Sewell looked to put her extensive experience in the hospitality industry to work turning around the Peirce Mill Teahouse in Rock Creek Park. But as a Black businesswoman in the 1920s, Sewell faced harsh blow back, even as her business thrived.

Though they may fall by the wayside of textbooks, without the efforts American women made toward the Revolution, the Continental Army would have been in dire straits indeed. Luckily, the women of Maryland and Virginia met the challenges of supply shortages, low morale, and lack of funds with determination and patriotism.

In 1982, as federal funding for the arts faced cuts, a multiracial women's coalition in D.C. created Sisterfire, a women's festival. What began as a one-day event quickly grew into an annual celebration of women artists. 

By the time she set out to build monuments, Daisy Breaux was a woman accustomed to getting what she wanted. Unfortunately, her plans for a memorial to America's mothers never got off the ground. In a legal snarl, she accused the architect of blackmail and extortion. He charged her in turn with sabotaging the project from the start.

Did you know that gender discrimination in education has only been illegal for just over 50 years? In 1972, Title IX transformed how we think about gender equality in education and required colleges and universities to follow new standards if they wanted to keep receiving federal funding. It was a sea change event, and it all started with Bernice Sandler at the University of Maryland.