Women's History Month Programs

In celebration of Women's History Month 2023, a few of the parks of National Capital Parks-East: Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, Fort Washington Park, Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, are offering programming related to this year's National Theme of "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories".

 

Mary McLeod Bethune and Captain Dovey M. Johnson (later Roundtree) at a luncheon at the First WAC Training Center, Fort Des Moines, Iowa, ca. 1943-1945

Library of Congress

Dovey Johnson Roundtree: A Crusader for Justice

Saturday, March 4th | 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Online, Virtual

Join us for an exciting presentation on pioneering World War II veteran, attorney, civil rights advocate, and minister Dovey Johnson Roundtree by her biographer, Katie McCabe. McCabe is the co-author of several books on Roundtree, including the award-winning, "Mighty Justice: My Life in Civil Rights”.

This program will be able to be viewed live via Microsoft Teams.

Reservations are required to view on-line. Email [e-mail] for reservations.

 

Members of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) who were Trustees of the Frederick Douglass Home, ca. 1920s

Archives Center, Smithsonian Institute NMAH

Creating A Space on the Nation’s Preservation Agenda: Black Women and Historic Preservation

Saturday, March 11th | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House NHS, 1318 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Join us for a talk by Dr. Tara Y. White, professor of history at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, as she explores the work of Black organizational women in preserving African American historic places, with emphasis on Black clubwomen’s preservation of Frederick Douglass’s Cedar Hill and Mary McLeod Bethune’s Council House in Washington, D.C. She will show the broader role of African American women in the history of historic preservation. Following the program, rangers will be giving tours of the home.

Due to limited seating capacity, this program will be able to be viewed live via Microsoft Teams.

Reservations are required for both in-person seating and to view on-line. Email [e-mail] for reservations.

 

Ruth Kiefer and Julie Davis, two WAC officers at what is now Fort Washington Park.

NPS Photo

From Washerwomen to WACs: Women’s History at Fort Washington

Saturday, March 18th | 10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Fort Washington Park, 13551 Fort Washington Road

Join the park staff for a special living history presentation and tour highlighting the role of women in the history of Fort Washington and in the US Army. The role will focus on the Civil War and WWII. Visitors will consider which parts of history are told, which are not, and why. Kids can also earn a special Junior Ranger badge by partaking of the special women’s-history scavenger hunt that will lead them to some of the lesser-known areas of the fort.

Reservations are not required.

 

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McLeod Bethune, and others are visiting George Washington Carver Hall, a men's dormitory for African Americans in Washington, D.C., ca. May 1943.

Corbis Images

Additional Resources

Each year, a national Women's History Theme is selected by the National Women's History Alliance. The 2023 National Theme is: "Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories". For more information on the theme, visit here.

Every March during Women's History Month and throughout the year, the National Park Service and our partners share stories, rich culture, and an invitation for all Americans to reflect on women's history in parks and communities across the country. Learn more here.

Click here to view the the White House's Presidential Proclamation on National Women's History Month 2023.

 

Be sure to follow the Historic Homes and Fort Washington Park of National Capital Parks-East on Social Media throughout Women's History Month for interesting content! #FindYourPark #WomensHistoryMonth #NACEHistoricHomes #FortWashingtonPark

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House NHS
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Fort Washington Park
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Carter G. Woodson Home NHS
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Frederick Douglass NHS
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