Illustration using photo by flickr Loco Steve, of the sculpture Magdalene, by Dessa Kirk
As a woman-founded and woman-owned company, Catalyst Ranch has always sought to lift up women. It’s a value that guides us in our private and public event booking as well as in the various arts and fundraising series we’ve produced ourselves.
In March, Women’s History Month gives us the opportunity to learn more about accomplished women in history and women changemakers of today. Here are just a few of the figures we look up to who have changed the landscape of Chicago.
Sandra Cisneros, Original photo by Keith Dannemiller
Celebrated writer Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago, and her enduring debut novel, The House on Mango Street, was largely inspired by her youth spent in Humboldt Park. Written in 1983, it has been translated worldwide and is taught in classrooms across the country. We celebrate Cisneros and authors and artists like her, whose work connects broadly diverse audiences through shared experience and emotion.
Sandra Cisneros founded the Macondo Writers Workshop fostering community and growth of writers committed to activism in their work. And on May 3rd of this year, Cisneros will receive the Order of Lincoln, Illinois’ highest honor for professional achievement and public service. Notably, all six of this year’s recipients are women.
Toni Preckwinkle, Original photo by Charles Edward Miller
Toni Preckwinkle moved to Chicago to earn her bachelor’s (and later her master’s degree) from the University of Chicago, and after ten years teaching history to Chicagoland students, she devoted her life and career leading communities and advocating for change in Cook County, advocating for police and prison reform and more affordable healthcare and public transit.
Though the realm of politics is fraught with us-versus-them mentality, we appreciate the support Preckwinkle has given to equality and equity, and we celebrate her accomplishments in leadership and lifting up the people of Chicago. And we’re particularly inspired by her being the first Black woman to be elected Cook County Board President.
Notably, Bobbie L. Steele, the only other woman to hold the office, is also Black; and, having served as a Cook County Commissioner from 1986 to 2006, Steele is the longest-serving African American woman in the history of Cook County government.
McMaid homecare workers and members of their Local 880 Union
In 1984, Irma Sherman, Doris Gould, Juanita Hill, and Mary Williamson were at the forefront of organizing the mostly Black workforce of the McMaid homecare staffing company and successfully forming their labor union, . Their victory over intense anti-union efforts pioneered new labor strategies and established a foundation for what would become the largest union in the Midwest.
For the work these women did to strengthen their community by organizing, we regard them and their colleagues with praise and respect, and we celebrate them this Women’s History Month.
Women’s History Month Events in Chicago
In the coming days, there are still opportunities to gather in celebration of Women’s History Month. Consider the following events in our city:
March 19 – The Art of Science: Celebrating Women Illustrators, at the Field Museum
Meet museum librarians and view a selection of rarely-seen original art and published items from the Library’s rare book collection, and learn about the work and histories of women illustrators who played significant roles in the development of the natural sciences. See event details here.
March 22 – Women’s History Month Commemorative Day, at the Chicago History Museum
Honoring women in the arts, this event includes family-friendly arts activities highlighting women in history, musical performances by local women singers, interpreter-led gallery tours, and more! See event details here.
March 26 – WBEZ Presents An Evening with Roxane Gay and Sasha-Ann Simons, at the Athenaeum Center
New York Times best-selling author and feminist icon Roxane Gay will discuss her newest title, The Portable Feminist Reader, with the host of WBEZ’s Reset, Sasha-Ann Simons.
The Portable Feminist Reader dives into the history of American feminism as Gay considers multicultural perspectives and intersectional issues like ecofeminism, feminism, disability, and Black feminism. See event details here.
