Celebrating the Lives of Remarkable Utah Women

One of the things I appreciate most about our Special Collections is the wealth of materials around strong and influential women who have significantly shaped Utah history. There are many examples of such influential women including Emmaline B. Wells who worked tirelessly as a suffragist and editor of the Woman’s Exponent; Sonja Johnson who led women in the fight for passage of the ERA; Esther Landa who sought a stronger community through bringing together religious groups and who also worked to improve early childhood education. The stories of countless other remarkable women are housed in the Aileen H. Clyde 20^th Century Women’s Legacy Archive.

On March 17, the Marriott Library will celebrate Women’s History Month by hosting attorney, author and activist Kate Kelly, who will discuss Striving for Equality: The Battle to Put Women in the U.S. Constitution, a virtual discussion about the long and winding, and still elusive, road toward ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. Ms. Kelly also works for immigrant rights, torture abolition, and the campaign to end violence against women. Additionally, she founded a worldwide grassroots organization to fight gender inequality within her own faith tradition called Ordain Women.

I hope you will join us in recognizing the many incredible women who helped create this state. I invite you to read their stories which can be discovered in our Special Collections, open to all to enjoy.

Sincerely,

Alberta Comer

Dean of Libraries