Overlooked
Today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day, a day to promote women’s accomplishments. First celebrated in the United States in 1909, this year's feels especially poignant in our current social climate, as efforts are made across professions for more women’s voices to be added to the tables where only men have traditionally held power.
Today there are rallies held, think-pieces written, and speeches given, but this piece from The New York Times really stands out. The editors went through their obituary archives and found 15 remarkable women who were left out. As writers Amisha Padnani and Jessica Bennett say,
“Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre; Emily Warren Roebling oversaw construction of the Brooklyn Bridge when her husband fell ill; Madhubala transfixed Bollywood; Ida B. Wells campaigned against lynching. Yet all of their deaths went unremarked in our pages, until now.”
I was surprised and moved by these women’s lives overlooked and thankful for the correction. Who else from our history do we not know? How can we continue to elevate voices from all experiences? These are the things I meditate on today.
Please read The New York Times' “Overlooked” feature here. The editors promise to continue this practice weekly, including from history marginalized people beyond women.
If this interests you, there is also an excellent documentary, Obit., about The New York Times obituary department that I highly recommend. It’s available for free streaming through Amazon Prime and available to rent or buy through other retailers.
Photo compiled from multiple photos within the "Overlooked" feature.
