International Women's Day

"On the official calendar American women have two holidays: August 26th, the day we were allowed to vote, and Mother's Day. Well, we got the vote, but look at who we can vote for. And while Mother's Day is a good day for Hallmark cards, it is not a good day for women who can't find daycare, who can't get decent medical care for their children, and have to send them to inferior schools. Our struggle isn't only about American women or only about the vote. We are celebrating March 8th because of its internationalism and its socialist origins." -- International Women's Day Coalition, March 8, 1974, New York.

In 1910, Clara Zetkin, a German socialist leader, called on the Second International Socialist Congress in Copenhagen to set aside March 8 as International Working Women's Day. She was supported by such people as Rosa Luxembourg, V. I. Lenin, and U.S. labor leader "Big Bill" Haywood. But the day of celebration was denied the status of a national celebration in the U.S. 

Since 1969, International Women's Day has been rediscovered by American women and celebrations spread across the country each year. This year in Ann Arbor, a series of events will run March 14 - 16 because of spring break at the University of Michigan. Films, panels and workshops are featured. For details on events, see the calendar.