In 1978, Women’s History Month began as a week-long educational initiative in Santa Rosa, California. After the initiative gained local traction, a presidential proclamation formally declared the week of March 8 National Women’s History Week in 1980 before the celebration was expanded to a month-long celebration in 1986. This year, the celebration at Whitman was spearheaded by Whitman’s Women of Color Voices (WOCV), who created a week of events to honor Women’s History Month at the end of March and beginning of April.

Collaborating with other on-campus organizations, WOCV’s three events spotlighted self-care and occurred at the Third Space center. Highlighting the value of rest, the first event of the series on April 1 was called “Restore, Resist, Rejuvenate.” 

Sophomore and secretary of WOCV Jimena Martinez explained that the event created space for attendees to prioritize their well-being. By treating rest as a form of celebration, attendees were able to leave events with new techniques that allowed them to center their self-care needs.

“This event was designed to honor our bodies, emotions and rest as forms of self-care and healing,” Martinez said.

WOCV’s events brought in experts to help students feel their best, including guided discussions and mindful movement led by Welty Center therapists, tote-bag printing, self-care kits and even massages from a professional masseuse. 

For Martinez, coming together through rest provides a valuable opportunity for women of color on campus to build community, contextualizing their own experiences to Women’s History Month.

“These activities emphasized the importance of connecting to our bodies, acknowledging our emotions and accepting that rest is good [and] healthy. It was a great opportunity for women of color to come together, connect and share their experiences through group discussions,” Martinez said. 

President of WOCV, Aaliyah Howard, said the club worked to put on these events because they felt it was important to have events to celebrate the month for all women on campus, recognizing their achievements. Bringing programming to campus allowed WOCV to make space to celebrate the hard work of women on campus that happens daily. 

“I definitely want to highlight other student leaders, especially the WOCV cabinet members, who have been some of my biggest supporters and hardest workers,” Howard said.

Martinez explained how there was a noticeable gap in the institutional events hosted by the college this month, so they were encouraged to take matters into their own hands and create the programming they hoped to see.  

“What encouraged us to create a week of celebrating Women’s History Month was seeing a lack of events planned from Whitman for this month. We have seen past events dedicated to celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month and LGBTQIA+ Month but not any held for Women’s History Month, so we said… if no one else is going to create an event in honor of celebrating women, then we have to take initiative and plan something,” Martinez said. 

Celebrating Women’s History encourages people to understand how we contribute something valuable to society in our own unique way. Martinez explained how WOCV prioritized making their celebrations emphasize intersectionality to resolve this gap in recognition. 

“As women of color in a predominantly white institution, we can get so overwhelmed and stressed that we forget to rest and take care of ourselves, which is why our events are so important,” Martinez said.  

For sophomore Deniz Bean, the events Whitman and its student organizations choose to host reflect the campus’s priorities.

“I think that the events that we hold on campus demonstrate the values of this institution, and I think it’s important to value minority groups. I think it’s important to value women in general because they contribute so much to society,” Bean said.

By celebrating Women’s History Month through an intersectional, student-focused lens, WOCV hoped to play a role in creating a community where all can thrive and be their best selves, creating the programming they wanted to see on campus.