March is Women’s History Month. Denver Public Library will recognize women with books and programs throughout the month. Women’s history is human history, and just as old. There are many advances towards gender equity, bodily autonomy, and changing ideas about gender to celebrate along the way. It's also a time to think about a positive future, where gender can be expressed freely in a range of forms. History informs the future and we hope for a future of nonbinary and trans visibility, a future that is intersectional, accessible, and inclusive of all identities. How can you celebrate women this month?
Let’s honor those who have come before, like the namesakes of Denver Public Library branches Dr. Justina Ford, Pauline Robinson, and Sarah Platt Decker. You can also browse historical photos online in our Digital Collections. Expand your historical horizons with some of our Women’s History Month programming.
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Learn about Amache Ochinee Prowers, a Victorian-era Cheyenne woman who changed Colorado history online on Thursday, March 10, 4–5 p.m.
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Check out the work of local photographer Patricia Duncan,who will host an interactive discussion about her book, Defining the Times: Barack Obama-The Historic Journey of the First African American President through the eyes of a Colorado Photographer online on Saturday, March 5, 1–2 p.m.
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Denver Center for the Performing Arts will also present and discuss the ways women have shaped, informed and made Colorado theater online in The History of Women in Colorado Theatre on Thursday, March 17, 4–5 p.m.
Women have always been healers, workers, and caregivers across cultures. Please visit The Essential Women Photo Gallery in recognition of the healing and hope women have provided throughout history. As the late, great bell hooks says, Feminism is For Everybody, and it is a broad inclusive movement at its best.
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Special guest Professor Qrescent Mason will discuss the impact of the life of bell hooks and the legacy of her archival collection online in Preserving Women's Voices: the Life and Legacy of bell hooks and the bell hooks Archives on Monday, March 7, 4–5 p.m.
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Please visit the Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales Branch Library during Women’s History Month to see the Women Behaving Badly exhibit by Adri Norris, featuring unknown and underrepresented women. The opening ceremony is on Saturday, March 5, 2–4 p.m. and a closing ceremony is on Friday, March 25, 2–4 p.m.
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Join us for a online screening and Q&A of the Lesbian Bar Project Documentary with the directors on Friday, March 11, 3–4 p.m. The project aims to celebrate, support, and preserve the few remaining lesbian bars in the US.
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Celebrating is always important. We are hosting Girly Drinks: A Women's History Month Panel online on Friday, March 25, 6–7 p.m. Bars have not always been a space for women, come meet local Denverites who are changing that perception.
Another way to celebrate is by thinking about what gender equity looks like in the future.
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How can we create change and demand justice for murdered indigenous woman? Join us for a Community Converstion: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women to get involved on Wednesday, March 16, 4–5:30 p.m.
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The future will involve healing. Learn about the Enneagram in Staying Soft in A Hard World with Author Chichi Agorom on Tuesday, March 29, 12–1:30 p.m.
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There will always be more stories to tell, more histories to create! Join us for a special Women’s History Month 5-week series to create Tell Your Story Through Guided Autobiographies with facilitator, Lisa Culhane. The series begins on Wednesday, March 16, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., and runs weekly through Wednesday, April 13.
Tell us about a woman who has inspired you in the past or present, and share your hopes for a better future! Find more reading suggestions and programs at denverlibrary.org/womenshistorymonth
