Women's History Month
In March we celebrate Women’s History Month and highlight the works of the female artists, scholars, athletes, professionals, and reformers who have left an indelible mark on the nation’s history.
It is fitting, then, that President Joe Biden chose this month to nominate U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to serve as the next Justice on the Supreme Court. If confirmed to assume the seat of retiring Justice Steven Bryer, Judge Jackson will become the first Black woman to serve as a justice on the nation’s highest court.
It is also appropriate that the National Museum of American History chose this month to honor the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. On March 30th, Justice Ginsburg will be recognized for her groundbreaking commitment to gender equity and human rights, will posthumously receive the National Museum of American History's signature honor, the “Great Americans” medal. Her children, Jane C. Ginsburg and James S. Ginsburg will accept the medal on their mother's behalf. A significant selection of artifacts representing the Justice's Supreme Court career will be donated by her family to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History during that virtual ceremony. You can register online for that free event.
According to the Library of Congress, Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed a law authorizing the celebration and requesting the President proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.”
In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed legislation designating the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.” Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as “Women’s History Month.”
Below, we have included a list of library and online resources pertaining to the history of women lawyers and jurists, as well as a variety of Women’s History Month websites.
Books
- Doing Justice, Doing Gender: Women in Legal and Criminal Justice Occupations (eBook) by Susan Ehrlich Martin and Nancy C. Jurik
- The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg: A Life by Jane Sherron de Hart
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
- Race-ing Justice, En-gendering Power: Essays on Anita Hill, Clarence Thomas, and the Construction of Social Reality edited and with an introduction by Toni Morrison
- The Rhetoric of Supreme Court Women: From Obstacles to Options (eBook) by Nichola D. Gutgold
Streaming Media
- Anita Hill vs. Clarence Thomas (ABC News)
- Sandra Day O’Connor, The First (PBS)
- Anita Hill on the Thomas Hearings, 25 Years Later: “I Would Do it Again” (Films on Demand)
- Why Everyone Should Go to Law School by Jana Al-Akhras (TED talk)
Other Women’s History Month Resources
- National Women’s History Alliance
- Women’s History Month – Library of Congress
- National Women’s History Museum – Women’s History Month Resources
- NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund – Celebrating Women’s History Month