History Lessons
My Reluctant Feminist Hero
In a world in which wealth and opulence seem to beget political power, I long for a leader with un-showy discipline. I can’t help thinking of Angela Merkel.
History Lessons
History Lessons
Henrietta Lacks: A Moral Wrong That May Never Be Righted
Her name may not be a household name, but ‘HeLa cells’ from Henrietta Lacks's cervix changed the world.
History Lessons
Why Can’t We Just Pass the ERA? It’s Complicated.
The Equal Rights Amendment is a simple 24-word piece of legislation. But it’s also a historic movement, more than a century in the making, that began with women’s suffrage and continues to this day.
History Lessons
‘Women Should Have Children Instead of Poodles’—When Birth Control Came to Washington
The idea of birth control entered the national conversation in 1919, when an artist, activist, and single mother named Mary Ware Dennett brought the (quite shocking!) idea to Congress.
History Lessons
As America Votes Harris vs. Trump, One Woman’s Legacy Looms Especially Large
How Shirley Chisholm, who ran for president against all odds, forever altered the landscape for women in U.S. politics.
History Lessons
Remembering Lilly Ledbetter: A Life of Grit and Persistence
Lilly Ledbetter, for whom America’s Fair Pay Act of 2009 was named, has died. She was 86.