Women’s History Month: Brought to you by Support, Strength, and Tenaci

The relentless battle for equality and recognition has gnawed at women since the beginning of recorded time. When one culture or society alleges progression in addressing imbalances in freedoms, another inexplicably falls back to their patriarchal internments.

An unfortunate by-product of mental repression is women in varying locations and situations chose to accept their fate as they ultimately felt trapped with no recourse. However, like anything else, a balance existed within those who felt more compelled to live life on their own terms and ignored or outwardly rejected male-driven confines.

Synthia SAINT JAMES Women Lifting Their Voices

If we were to travel quite a distance back in time to 3100 BCE, we would find that Ancient Egyptian women had the agency to buy, own and sell a property. Contrarily, just to the North of the Mediterranean Sea and during the same juncture, Ancient Greece shared a crossover moment in time. Unlike Egypt, Grecian women lived under men's control with a considerable laundry list of restrictions for women of all societal ranks too extensive to analyze thoroughly. Depending on the country, leadership, and political climate, women's circumstances and overall status would feverishly fluctuate.

Ata Alishahi Ballet Dance

The remarkable Susan B. Anthony was born in 1820 into an activist, anti-slavery, and the Temperance Movement, which attempted to stop alcohol sales in the United States. Anthony was denied the opportunity to speak at an abolitionist conference because of her sex. At this moment, Anthony recognized that without voting power, men would not take women's thoughts and opinions seriously. In Anthony's words, "There never will be complete equality until women themselves help to make laws and elect lawmakers."

In 1869, Susan B. Anthony and another female activist started the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1869. She fought for women's rights until her death in 1906. Then, in 1920 the 19th amendment passed, and all of Anthony's outreach and hard work came to fruition. The 19th amendment, though a step in the right direction, women still had a long way to go.

E.A Orme Beauty and Strength

Sojourner Truth was born Isabella Baumfree in 1797 to slave parents. Another cruel slave owner purchased Isabella at the age of 9 and abused her regularly. As a teen, Isabella bought and sold several times and was forced to marry another slave, with whom she bore five children.

Isabella left four of her children behind and went to work for another family with her daughter. In 1827, the New York anti-slavery law passed, giving freedom to all slaves. During this time, her former master sold her 5-year-old son Peter to another slave owner illegally. Isabella sued this man and won. Isabella Baumfree became the first black woman to sue a white man in the United States and win.

As a devout Christian, Isabella changed her name to Sojourner truth and spent her days preaching the gospel and fighting against racism and slavery.

Vintage Lavoie Maud Wagner 1911

Maud Wager's contribution to the future of women was a bit more unique and less politically driven. Maud was born in Kansas in 1877 and worked as a circus performer from childhood. Maud met her husband, Gus Wagner, at one of her performances, and they quickly fell in love.

Gus was a tattoo artist who used a manual method of tattooing referred to as stick and poke. Gus not only tattoos his love but taught her the craft of tattooing. Back then, tattooing was for men only. Maud became the first female tattoo artist paving the way for women in the arts to prevail over stereotypes and barriers in their desired fields.

Women of all ethnicities, financial standings, and races continue to advance the world in ways never imagined. Tell all of the women in your life how much you appreciate them!