Since 1987, the United States has celebrated Women’s History Month, and the same notable names pop up in conversation nearly every year: Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, Lucy Stone, etc. These women are trailblazers and deserve respect; however, there are many women who were also trailblazers in the fight for equality and do not get nearly as much recognition. These women deserve to be both praised and honored for their work. These are only a few unsung heroes of the fight for women’s rights and Women’s History Month.

Mary Burnett Albert

Mary Burnett Albert lived from 1866-1923 and was a notable educator and activist in the suffrage movement. She was also involved in anti-lynching and anti-racism. She was even called the “best-known colored woman in the United States” and was indicted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 2005.

Harriett Burton Laidlaw 

Harriet Burton Laidlaw lived from 1873-1949 and chaired the Manhattan Borough of the Woman’s Suffrage Party from 1912 to 1916. She was among a group of women who had the opportunity to meet President Theodore Roosevelt and persuaded him to support their cause. This conversation let to an amendment to the New York State Constitution granting women the vote.

Matilda Joslyn Gage

Matilda Joslyn Gage lived from 1826-1899 and was the youngest speaker at the 1862 Women’s Rights Convention in Syracuse. She organized the Woman’s National Liberal Union in 1890 to assert the woman’s right to self-government. She also denounced female inferiority.

Marietta Holley

Marietta Holley lived from 1836-1926 and was both a writer and a novelist. She was so talented that she is now known as the “female Mark Twain.” She was a correspondent to many of the previously mentioned well-known suffragettes, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. She did her best to support the suffrage movement through writing satirically.

Belva Ann Lockwood

Belva Ann Lockwood lived from 1830-1917. She was the first woman to run for president in the United States, and she ran as a third party candidate. She fiercely believed that women shouldn’t depend solely on men for support and was the first woman to gain admittance to, and argue two cases before, the United States Supreme Court.

These women were strong, opinionated, relentless, and driven. They are the reason I am writing this article in Cathedral Prep today, and I am forever grateful. If you are interested in more information about these women or Women’s History Month in general, visit www.nysut.org.