Welcome to our celebration of Women’s History Month here in Blythewood.
As many of you probably know, Women’s History Month is a celebration of the contributions that women have made to history, culture, and our society. It has been observed annually during the month of March in the U. S, since 1987. More importantly, it is a time to reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women in every facet of our lives to the history of our country.
From Abigail Adams who, in 1776, implored her husband, President John Adams, to “remember the ladies….. we are determined to ferment a rebellion and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation,” when envisioning a government for the American colonies to many other brave and courageous women who dared to make a difference in our lives albeit our country.
And who can forget suffragists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who fought courageously for the right to vote and Jeanette Rankin, a longtime activist who was the first woman elected to Congress as a member of the House of Representatives.
Let us not forget Sojourner Truth, a former slave turned abolitionist and women’s rights activist and Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama – a move that helped launch the Civil Rights Movement.
And during this day and time, how can we forget the first African American, Indian American, and South Asian American woman who was elected Vice President of the US, Madame Kamala Harris.
And so, the very first celebration was launched in California in 1978 by a school district complete with a contest and a parade. A few years later, the idea had caught on within communities, school districts and organizations across the country. In 1980, former President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8th as National Women’s History Week. Congress followed by passing a resolution establishing a national celebration. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March.
And so here we are: 2021 trying to get through a pandemic and yet honor those who came before us – and shared their gifts and their talents.
Our program today is centered around Dr. Portia Lubchenco, the first female doctor in Blythewood, S. C. An interesting part of her history is that she was denied permission to the Medical College of the State of S. C. However, she was later accepted into the Medical College of NC in Charlotte. What a wonderful lesson in persevering and NOT giving up…and with the encouragement of her husband.
It would not be until 1901 that Love Rose Hirshchmann Gantt and Emilie Melanie Viett Rundlett and would become the first two women graduates of the Medical School.
Please take a few moments to read about other great women of South Carolina who made a profound difference in our lives. I know that you will enjoy their stories as much as I do. They are resounding stories that we can pass on from one generation to the next so that we will never forget the incredible sacrifices that have been made to ensure that our voices are heard. Enjoy!
HONORING S. C. WOMEN DURING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH
In honor of Women’s History Month, we are highlighting some notable South Carolina women from the past who made an impact on a national basis. Thank you for paving the way, Ladies!
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE
Mary McLeod Bethune was born to former slaves in Mayesville, S. C. (Sumter County) in 1875. She was determined to help break the circle of poverty in African American communities through education, and she started a school for African American girls in 1904 (later known as Bethune-Cookman University). She worked under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s as a Special Advisor on Minority Affairs and went on to start the National Council for Negro Women in 1935. Her portrait currently hangs in the S. C. State House.
DR. IRENE DILLARD ELLIOTT
Dr. Irene Dillard Elliott was was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina in 1924. A short time later she was hired as the first female faculty member of the University of South Carolina. She established the University’s Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
SEPTIMA POINSETTE CLARK
Septima Poinsette Clark was born in Charleston in 1898 and is known as the “Queen Mother of the Civil Rights Movement.” She was a major leader in organization like the NAACP and helped to start Citizenship Schools across the South, which taught African Americans to read so they could vote. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., asked her to come with him to receive the Nobel Peace Prize because he said she deserved it just as much as he did.
SHANNON FAULKNER
Shannon Faulkner won a 1995 US Supreme Court ruling that declared The Citadel’s male-only admissions policy unconstitutional. She became the first woman to join the Corps of Cadets, where hostility and hatred towards her ran rampant. During this time, she had to be protected by federal marshals. She left the Corps after just one week, but she opened the doors for all future female cadets, who owe their educations in large part to her groundbreaking effort.
CLELIA PERONNEAU MATHEWES MCGOWAN
Clelia Peronneau Mathewes McGowan born in Columbia in 1865, served on the South Carolina Board of Education for 7 years and was the first woman elected to public office in Charleston. She served as a social activist on the Committee on Better Race Relations and the Charles Free Library and was also a writer.
EMILY GEIGER
Emily Geiger was a teenager during the Revolutionary War. Though her father’s health prevented him from enlisting, Emily decided to make a contribution to the effort. Learning that General Greene could not find a man to carry a message to General Sumter through the Tory-infested countryside, Emily volunteered for the task. Captured by the British, Emily’s quick thinking led to her release – with apologies! To keep her document from being discovered, Emily tore it into small pieces and ate it. Having memorized the message, she went on to deliver it verbally.
ELIZA LUCAS PICKNEY
Eliza Lucas Pickney was born in the West Indies in 1723 before her military family relocated to S. C. in 1738. A few days later, she “singlehandedly” launched the state’s indigo industry when her father sent her some indigo seeds from the West Indies.
MODJESKA MONTEITH SIMKINS
Modjeska Monteith Simkins was born in Columbia in 1899 and became S. C’s “matriarch female secretary of the NAACP’s South Carolina state conference and was a key part of the influential Briggs v. Elliott case filed in S. C. challenging discrimination in S. C. schools. It was the first of 5 cases that later became a part of the Brown v. Board of Education in which the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. It was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement and helped to establish the precedent that “separate but equal” education and other services were not, in fact, equal at all.
LUCILE ELLERBE GODBOLD
Lucile Ellerbe Godbold won six medals for Track & Field at the 1922 World Meet, which was a precursor to today’s Olympics. That same year, she broke three American records and set a world record. “Miss Ludy” would become the first women inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame
ALTHEA GIBSON
Althea Gibson was born in 1927 in Silver, S. C. (Clarendon County) before her family settled in New York City, where she became a women’s tennis champion at age 12. She went on to become the first African American tennis player to win Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Championship, and the U. S, Open. She was also a performer, actress and writer.
DR. MATILDA ARABELLE EVANS
Dr. Matilda Arabelle Evans, born in Columbia 1872, attended the Women’s College of Pennsylvania and then became the first African American woman licensed to practice medicine in S. C. She opened Colombia’s first African American hospital and fought to provide free medical exams for kids. She even raised six children who were abandoned at her private practice as her own, along with 5 children she took in from deceased relatives.
DR. WIL LOU GRAY
Dr. Wil Lou Gray was a a native of Laurens County. In 1931, this Laurens County native conducted successful scientific experiments to prove blacks could learn as well as whites. Determined to end illiteracy among South Carolinians, she pioneered adult education programs. She is remembered by her portrait which hangs in the State House, as well as by the school she founded, the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School.
SARAH GRIMKE & ANGELINA GRIMKE WELD
Sarah Grimkè & Angelina Grimkè Weld grew up in a family of wealth and privilege, the Grimkè sisters witnessed firsthand the injustice of slavery. As women, they too experienced social inequity and were denied the power to vote. Vowing to fight for equality for all, the Grimkès moved north and became avid and renowned proponents of emancipation and suffrage.
SARAH CAMPBELL ALLAN
Sarah Campbell Allan was born in Charleston in 1861. As a young adult, she applied to the Medical College of the State of S. C. and was rejected because she was a woman. She persisted, with encouragement from her dad. She took a prep course for medicine at the South Carolina College for Women in Columbia (now known as Winthrop College), went to medical school at the Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, then returned to Charleston for the first ever sitting for the S. C. Medical Board. She was the only woman there – and scored the highest grade. She received her license in 1894 and went on to work at the S. C. Hospital for the insane in Columbia.
CAROL CONNOR
Carol Connor was elected in 1988 to the SC circuit court, Judge Connor was the first woman to serve as an acting member of the South Carolina Supreme Court.