International Women's Day honors the women who brought about change

International Women's Day wasn't born out of politeness; it was ignited by courage, grit, and a refusal to be silenced. In 1908, 15,000 women stormed the streets of New York City, demanding fair wages, humane working hours, and-most radically-the right to vote. Their voices echoed worldwide, inspiring the Socialist Party of America to declare the first National Women's Day in 1909. Things didn't stop there. In 1910, at a conference in Copenhagen, German activist Clara Zetkin took things global, proposing a day when women everywhere would unite for their rights.

   The idea caught fire, and in 1911, International Women's Day was officially celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland-though the battle was far from over.

   By 1917, Russia was on the brink. War had drained the country, food was scarce, and families barely survived. But on March 8th, it wasn't politicians or generals who led the call for change-it was women. Thousands of them-factory workers, mothers, daughters-poured into the streets of Petrograd, fed up with empty pantries and endless suffering. "Bread and peace!" they shouted, their voices hoarse from the cold but steady with determination. What started as a simple protest kept growing-more women joined, the crowd swelled, and soon, it was impossible to ignore. Their refusal to back down within days brought the country to a breaking point. The czar had no choice. He stepped down.

   That moment changed everything. In 1921, the Soviet Union officially declared March 8th a holiday to honor the women whose courage helped spark a revolution. Their fight became a symbol-proving that progress never comes freely—we must fight for it! It's won by those who demand it.

   The message didn't stop at Russia's borders. Over the decades, more nations recognized the day until, in 1977, the United Nations made it official: International Women's Day. This is not just a date on a calendar. It's a battle cry. It serves as a reminder that no one gives up power willingly; we must fight for rights, time and time again. Every march, every protest, every voice demanding justice today carries the same fire lit in 1917. 

STILL I RISE

You may write me down in history

With your bitter, twisted lies,

You may trod me in the very dirt

But still, like dust, I’ll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?

Why are you beset with gloom?

’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells

Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,

With the certainty of tides,

Just like hopes springing high,

Still I’ll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?

Bowed head and lowered eyes?

Shoulders falling down like teardrops,

Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?

Don’t you take it awful hard

’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines

Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,

You may cut me with your eyes,

You may kill me with your hatefulness,

But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?

Does it come as a surprise

That I dance like I’ve got diamonds

At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame

I rise

Up from a past that’s rooted in pain

I rise

I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,

Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear

I rise

Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear

I rise

Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,

I am the dream and the hope of the slave.

I rise

I rise

I rise.

-Maya Angelou-

Art by Bethany Kerr