By Lynn Kellogg
This weekend kicks off Women’s History Month. It’s a time to recognize the vital role women have played in shaping our society and knowledge while demonstrating ability to overcome obstacles.
A new designation for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area caught my eye. It celebrates two remarkable women and an 1856 landmark suit that emancipated them and other slaves held illegally in the “free” state of California.
Bridget “Biddy” Mason and Hannah Embers were slaves forced by their owner to walk from Mississippi to Utah, then California. They clandestinely were able to alert abolitionist allies and friends in the free Black state of their plight. One of those confidants petitioned a judge on their behalf and officers were sent to bring the two women and their kin into protective custody. The judge emancipated all the owner’s14 enslaved workers.
The book, “West of Slavery: The Southern Dream of a Transcontinental Empire” authored by Kevin Waite, a history professor at the University of Texas at Dallas, describes the multi-pronged efforts of slaveowners to extend the institution throughout the West. He credits Biddy Mason, who became a midwife, real estate mogul, philanthropist and one of the richest Black women west of the Mississippi, with turning the tide on growing incidences of Western slavery.
Women’s role in aerospace is particularly notable, heralding back to 1881 when Edward Charles Pickering, Director of the Harvard Observatory, hired Williamina Flemming, his housekeeper, to be his assistant computing and copying data. Her skill resulted in his hiring more than 80 women for computing and cataloging data during his tenure. Working six days a week for half wages, they created the databases needed to advance the field.
For example, Annie Jump Cannon devised a system for classifying stars that’s still used today. Unlike honors bestowed on her male counterparts however, it’s called the Harvard system rather than the Cannon system.
Another “computer” at Harvard at the turn of the century, Henrietta Swan Leavitt, discovered a means of measuring the distance to variable stars based on their cycle of brightness. While this opened a new door to astronomers to determine distances to galaxies, she did her calculations from photographic plates and was not allowed to look through an actual telescope until near her death. The book Silent Sky honors her and was also performed as an exceptional play by Twin City Players a few years back.
Jump to modern times of the 1960s, if you haven’t seen the movie Hidden Figures, you should. It’s a true story following three Black women breaking the color and gender barriers at NASA.
Catherine Johnson, deemed a human computer, created methods for calculating trajectory, launch windows, and emergency return paths, assuring Apollo mission successes. Originally not even allowed to use the bathroom in the building she worked in, she served a 33-year career at NASA with a spacecraft and building named after her. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Obama in 2015, five years before her death at age 101.
The designation of cultural recognition days or months such as Women’s History, Black History, Hispanic Heritage, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Pride Month, and other often marginalized groups, honors diverse communities and helps society acknowledge unique achievements.
Pamela Hillard Owens, a columnist and CEO of a Branding and Marketing Academy, points out that the educational aspect of these observances cannot be overstated. She underscores that “… recognition fosters inclusivity, helps fight stereotypes and biases by highlighting the positive impact of diversity on the nation’s identity.”
Per Owens, “Government holidays and specially designated months are more than just symbolic gestures; they are essential tools for fostering a deeper understanding of the diverse fabric of American society…. these observances remind us of the strength that comes from embracing diversity.” Well said.
Lynn Kellogg is former CEO of Region IV Area Agency on Aging in Southwest Michigan. Questions on age or independence services? Call the Info-Line for Aging & Disability at 800-654-2810 or visit areaagencyonaging.org. The Generations column appears each weekend in The Herald-Palladium.