Upcoming Events

Women have made great strides in the world of politics. However, in 2023, there are still many US cities that have never elected a woman to serve as mayor. While every candidate and mayor’s experiences in the process differ, enormous gender-based barriers persist. The 1887 election of Susanna Salter, America’s (and the world’s) first woman elected mayor who served, continues to shed light on today’s process, media representation, campaigning, resistance, and success of women in local politics. Join moderator Wendy Doyle of United WE, children’s author Karen M. Greenwald, Mayor Mattie Parker of Fort Worth, former Mayor Melina Carnicelli of Auburn (NY), and former Mayor Diana Smith of Seneca Falls (NY) for a discussion about their election victories, obstacles in office, and how Mayor Salter’s story reflects their own.

The National Women’s History Museum strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. For questions, or to request accommodations such as an ASL interpreter or captioning, please email hist[email protected] at least 7 days in advance of the program.

Join fellow Book Club attendees for a special edition of Black Feminist Book Club exploring Black feminist futures through Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower. Published in 1993 and set in a post-apocalyptic Earth beginning in the year 2024, Butler’s renowned novels have been lauded as some of the best science fiction of the last 100 years — and have also been banned for depictions of resistance – to hierarchies, racism, and gender norms.  For this special edition of Black Feminist Book Club, we will be reading Butler’s now-canonical text and visiting exhibitions nearby that feature artists, thinkers, and objects inspired by, and aligned with, Butler’s vision for alternate futures.

Maya Angelou: And Still I Rise is the first feature documentary about the incomparable Dr. Maya Angelou. Join the National Women’s History Museum for a special screening and talkback in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library’s Auditorium on the 5th floor. 

Calling all book lovers! Please join the National Women’s History Museum for a meeting of our Women’s History Book Club. The Women’s History Book Club is a (virtual) place to gather, discuss, and learn from and about a selected book that uplifts women’s stories and voices. As part of this intimate community, participants will take part in an interactive conversation with members of NWHM staff about our selected book.

This meeting we will discuss The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray (Berkley, June 7, 2022). This is a work of historical and literary fiction, and we will discuss what historical fiction helps do for women’s history!

From Penguin Random House:

A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection.

But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American.

The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.

Purchase your copy here!

In order to facilitate an interactive conversation, space is limited, and registrants are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time by emailing us at [email protected] using the subject line: Women’s History Book Club Question.

“All women love shopping” a cliché if there ever was one, that haunts half the population to this day. Join the National Women’s History Museum for a virtual tour of department stores and their historical significance. This guided experience, led by A Tour of Her Own, will virtually explore DC streets strewn with the ghosts and skeletons of these iconic buildings and discuss the way a simple trip to the store was in fact so much more.

Shopping was a place for women to find a modicum of freedom from the male dominated world. This nexus of classes and commerce allowed for women to casually socialize in chance meetings and exercise the power of economics often unavailable to them in regimented day to day lives. Here in Washington DC, many of the largest department stores were situated between the White House and the United States Capitol Building.

A Tour Of Her Own (TOHO) is the first tourism company in Washington, D.C. to focus exclusively on women’s history. TOHO specializes in historical tours, special events, consulting and virtual experiences.

Please note: The National Women’s History Museum strives to provide programs that are accessible to all visitors. For questions, or to request accommodations such as an ASL interpreter or closed captioning, please email [email protected] at least 7 days in advance of the program.