Women's Rights

Lesson Plan

Ida B. Wells: Suffragist and Anti-Lynching Activist

This mini lesson will introduce students to Ida B. Wells through a primary source and invite students to explore the geography of American lynchings through an interactive map.

Lesson Plan

Real Life Rosie the Riveters

This lesson features a series of student-centered grouping strategies and discussion forums that utilize primary and secondary sources accounts regarding real-life ‘Rosie the Riveters’ and their contributions to America’s victory in the Second World War.

Lesson Plan

Shirley Chisholm, Unbossed and Unbought

Students will use the words of Rep. Shirley Chisholm to better understand her experience, and the experience of women everywhere in America.

Biography

Elena Kagan

The first female Solicitor General of the United States and now an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, Elena Kagan is a prominent legal scholar and jurist who has advocated for justice and equality since childhood.

Biography

Amy Coney Barrett

In October 2020, Amy Coney Barrett became the fifth woman confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Biography

Sonia Sotomayor

As the first Hispanic and third woman appointed to the Supreme Court, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor has made an impact in and out of the courtroom.

Exhibit

Feminismo: La Segunda Ola

Al igual que la primera ola, que se desarrolló durante un período de reformas sociales, la segunda ola también tuvo lugar en medio de otros movimientos sociales y políticos.

Exhibit

Feminism: The First Wave

While many date the “first wave” of feminism to the Women’s Rights Convention held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, the origins of the feminism movement lay much earlier.

Exhibit

Feminismo: La Primera Ola

Durante generaciones, el movimiento feminista ha avanzado notablemente en la defensa de los derechos de las mujeres.

Lesson Plan

The Legacy of Zora Neale Hurston

Examine Zora Neale Hurston’s lifelong commitment to African American literature and cultural preservation.

Biography

Anna Arnold Hedgeman

Throughout her long life, Hedgeman advocated for civil rights, education, social justice, poverty relief, and women.

Biography

Cori Bush

As one of the newest members of Congress, Bush pushes for progressive legislative goals that will benefit her constituents—people just like her.

Biography

Pauli Murray

As a poet, writer, activist, organizer, legal theorist, and priest, Murray was directly involved in, and helped articulate, the intellectual foundations of two of the most important social justice movements of the twentieth century.

Biography

Sylvia Rivera

A veteran of the 1969 Stonewall Inn uprising, Sylvia Rivera was a tireless advocate for those silenced and disregarded by larger movements.

Lesson Plan

Gloria Steinem, Feminism and “Living the Revolution"

Students will use the words of Gloria Steinem, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Betty Friedan to better understand sexism in America. will Students will ultimately write a short piece evaluating the extent to which second-wave feminists were successful.

Biography

Selma Burke

Selma Burke discovered her love for sculpture as a young child and followed her passion to Harlem Renaissance New York, Parisian art studios, and even the White House.

Biography

Suzan-Lori Parks

Though a high school teacher discouraged her from writing because of her poor spelling, Suzan-Lori Parks went on to become one of the most successful playwrights in the United States.

Biography

Anne Spencer

Harlem Renaissance poet Anne Spencer lived her entire life in Virginia, where she tended her garden, worked as a librarian and teacher, hosted luminaries of Black intellectual and cultural life, and fought for equal rights for African Americans.

Biography

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey

Often called the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey was known for her deep-throated voice and mesmerizing stage presence that drew packed audiences and sold hit records in the early twentieth century.

Biography

Hazel Scott

Jazz pianist and singer Hazel Scott was not only the first African-American woman to host her own television show, but she also bravely stood up to the House Un-American Activities Committee and the Hollywood studio machine.