Readout of White House Celebration of Women’s History

Today, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, and Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality Brenda Mallory announced new actions to honor the legacy and contributions of a diverse range of women and girls to our country, and highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to increase the representation of women’s history in sites across America.

These efforts include an Executive Order President Biden signed in March 2024 to strengthen the National Park Service’s recognition of women’s history. To advance this work, philanthropic partners announced:

• A $1.3 million commitment from the Mellon Foundation to support the development of an inaugural Women’s History Theme Study, which will serve as a historical foundation for the National Park Service (NPS) to identify major topics and figures in women’s history to be considered for recognition at National Historic Landmarks, and inform efforts to preserve women’s history throughout the nation. This commitment is part of the Foundation’s $500 million Monuments Project. 

• A $2 million commitment from the National Park Foundation that will help national parks tell a more inclusive and comprehensive story of American history. This investment will fund Inclusive Storytelling Grants, providing resources to document, preserve, and share important stories, including of women who have shaped our history and continue to shape our country.

Today’s event builds on continuing efforts across the Federal government to recognize the role that women and girls play in shaping the American story. In 2023, President Biden designated the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi and Illinois that honors the bravery of Mamie Till-Mobley in the wake of her son’s brutal murder, which helped catalyze the Civil Rights Movement. Recently, the National Park Service also designated sites significant to women’s history as National Historic Landmarks, including Pond Farm Pottery in California, an arts community founded by renowned ceramist Marguerite Wildenhain, and the Sam and Ruth Van Sickle Ford House in Illinois, the home of Ruth Van Sickle Ford—the former director and president of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. During the Biden-Harris Administration, the National Park Service has invested more than $19 million in infrastructure and preservation projects for parks commemorating women across America. Additionally, the Department of the Interior has awarded $2.1 million in Historic Preservation Fund grants for sites that are helping to tell women’s history through programs including History of Equal Rights, Save America’s Treasures, African American Civil Rights, and Underrepresented Communities.

Today’s event convened Administration officials, prominent historians, museum leaders, conservation leaders, members of the National Park System Advisory Board, Members of Congress, and others who have led the way in studying, recognizing, and amplifying women’s history. Speakers included:

• Deb Haaland, U.S. Secretary of the Interior

• Jennifer Klein, Assistant to the President and Director of the Gender Policy Council

• Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality

• Dr. Elizabeth Alexander, President of the Mellon Foundation

• Lise Aangeenbrug, Chief Program Officer of the National Park Foundation

• Dr. Turkiya Lowe, Principal Historian of the National Park Service and Deputy Federal Preservation Officer

• Dr. Melanie Adams, Interim Director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum

• Dr. Marvel Parker, Executive Director of Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Institute

• Dr. Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress

 

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