Women’s History Month began with a workers’ protest
Scary bacteria, a job-application bot, and being “smart” (Issue #283)
Almost exactly a year ago, we wrote a newsletter on the anti-establishment origins of International Women’s Day, and by extension, Women’s History Month. One notable point of origin for both holidays? The historic 1908 workers’ protest, when 15,000 women marched in New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay, and the end of child labor. (Child labor didn’t officially end in the U.S. until 1938.)
As we wrote in 2024, Women’s History Month was a grassroots effort for decades — until 1987, when Congress signed it into law. Former legislative aide Susan Scanlan recalls that the holiday was originally going to be in August, surrounding the 26th, when women got the right to vote. But right before Scanlan and Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski submitted their bill, Scanlan paused. “Barbara, do you really want to be outside parading on August 26… when it’s hotter than the hinges of hell???” (If you’ve been to Maryland in summer, you get it.)
That’s how they landed on March, which coincided with International Women’s Day. “We wanted the cherry blossoms in bloom,” she remembers, “and we wanted it to be marching weather.”
What I like about this story is they designed a holiday they’d actually want to celebrate. Tomorrow marks the 117th anniversary of that 1908 protest by women workers — and for more history, I recommend starting with Medium writer and U.S. history PhD Melissa DeVelvis’ Women’s History Syllabus. It was first published a few years back but the reading recommendations still hold up, beginning with Salem Witch Trial transcripts and leading up to shows like I Love Lucy, 30 Rock, and Insecure.
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Also today…
- The bacteria that spoil our food (basically, white mold and various slimes) are usually harmless to consume, though noxious and disgusting — they make our food disgusting-looking and -smelling so they can consume it themselves. The really dangerous pathogens to humans tend to be less visible. (Dim Nikov in Tastyble)
- Looking for a job? Hussein Jundi built an AI-powered job search engine to help anyone target jobs they might actually want to do. (Data Science Collective)
🧠 Practical wisdom: on being “smart enough”
“I’m not that smart” is just code for “I don’t care that much.” In other words: I don’t care enough to do the reading, to fail along the way, to show up, to make a promise, to learn as I go, to confront failure, to get better at the work. Even if that’s true, you’re probably smart enough. — Liam D.
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Edited and produced by Scott Lamb & Carly Rose Gillis
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