The Pleasant Hill-Martinez Branch of the AAUW (American Association of University Women) is very fortunate to have Molly Murphy MacGregor, co-founder and Executive Director of the National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA), as the featured speaker for the April 17 meeting. For 38 years, she and other women have been working with NWHA to ensure that the contributions of women to our nation’s story and its success are known and honored. Next year is the centennial year of women obtaining the right to vote in 1920.
Everyone is invited to attend the meeting and bring guests and students who would be interested. The meeting will be at 7:00PM on April 17 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church at 1601 Mary Drive, Pleasant Hill.
MacGregor will talk about the work of the NWHA, its goals and the importance of all of us supporting awareness of the contributions of women to our history locally and nationally. The most recent NWHA success was influencing a Congressional Commission to study the possibility of a museum of American women’s History. In November, 2016 the Commission reported to the President and Congress that women’s history is integral to the American story and the Smithsonian Institution is the natural place to honor women’s contributions to this country. The President and Congress agreed by taking a first step – creating the American women’s History Initiative at the Smithsonian.
NWHA, headquartered in Santa Rosa, is one of the leaders in the effort underway to make sure that the centennial is honored as it should be and that awareness of the contributions of women to our history are properly and permanently noted. Already NWHA is preparing not only for national celebrations but also for local events.
Their first success years ago was lobbying congress to designate March as Women’s History Month. NWHA then worked to provide information and training for educators, community organizations and parents on women’s contributions to US history.
Membership in AAUW is open to anyone with an associate’s college degree or higher. The organization seeks to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Visit our website at www.aauw-pleasanthill-martinez.org.
If you have any questions, please contact Nancy Hobert at (925) 228-7271. We hope to see you there.
