She Persisted: 13 American Woman Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton

Mar 13, 202211 min read

Updated: Mar 18, 2022

Happy Woman's History Month!

This book is an inspiration for not only the youth but for the older generation as well! Woman have long endured the gender stereotypes, we have came very far but there is still so much work to be done!

This book represents 13 American Woman who changed history. Each page has a short but strong paragraph explaining what these amazing woman did in American history. On each page this books leaves a quote of an admiral quote from the woman represented. That's my favorite part!

The first woman shown is Harriet Tubman. Also known as Araminta Ross (Minty). Minty changed her name to Harriet before escaping so it would be difficult to track her. She was born into slavery and the thought of her family separating was an absolute terror to her. She knew she had to do something. Harriet suffered from a head injury as an adolescent, she was hit in the head by an overseer. She experienced life-long headaches, seizures and vivid dreams. She later underwent brain surgery in 1898 and chose not to receive anesthesia during the procedure, instead she bite a bullet. She was given the nickname "Moses" because she never lost a single one of the many slaves she guided to freedom. Between 1851 and the onset of the Civil War, she made 18 expeditions south. But that's not all, she also helped find a cure for dysentry. Harriet worked as a nurse during the war, healing the sick and wounded. Many people in the hospital died from dysentery (a disease associated with terrible diarrhea). She worked with many leading abolitionists, including John Brown and she was an active proponent of women’s suffrage. "Harriet Tubman was born a slave, and her story could have ended there. Instead she persisted, escaping from slavery and becoming the most famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad".

The second woman shown is Helen Keller. "Once Helen became blind and deaf as a toddler, few people thought she'd be able to learn to read, write or speak. But she persisted". Helen was the very first person who was deaf and blind to graduate collage. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1953. Helen traveled to 39 countries, from the UK to Japan to Syria. During her travels, she met with presidents, prime ministers, and other government leaders to advocate for educating blind people, deaf people, and people with disabilities. In 1952, during her visit to the Middle East, she gave lectures at medical schools, visited schools for disabled students, and met with organizations that helped blind people. Hellen advocated for civil rights throughout her life, she published 14 books, 500 articles, held speaking tours in over 35 countries on civil rights, and impacted over 50 policies. This included making Braille the US official writing system for the blind.

The third woman shown is Clara Lemlich. Clara was born in Ukraine but fled to the United States with her family who was Jewish because of the threat of the violence happening durning the anti-jewish era. Clara worked at a garment factory in New York City when she arrived, which is where she saw all the problems woman faced while working. She joined the executive board of a local chapter of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU), a relatively new organization gaining momentum in the fight for workers' rights. Clara and her supporters were often physically harmed by policemen and people hired by factory owners. In one case she was hospitalized after a beating she received while standing in the picket line. She had not only started protests, but she had also instigated a worker's revolution. Clara had been arrested 17 times and been beaten by police and company guards, who broke six of her ribs. "She wrote that the factory's conditions made woman into machines, and so she persisted, organizing picket lines and strikes that ultimately helped win better pay, shorter hours and safer working conditions for thousands of workers-both woman and men".

The fourth woman shown is Nellie Bly. Nellie was just 16 years old when she expressed her disappointment towards a Pittsburgh publication. Through a letter, she criticized an article that described women as worthless and weak. As an advocate of woman's rights, she wrote a harshly-worded letter to the newspaper editor. In 1887. she went undercover at a women’s psychiatric hospital for 10 days to report the practices inside. Also in 1887, she accepted the task of investigating cases of brutality and neglect at a women’s asylum. Nellie had to claim she had amnesia. She had to endure inhumane practices inside the psychiatric hospital. She was the first woman to witness an execution in the 1900s. She was also the first woman to report the Eastern Front of World War I. Nellie changed her name 3 times. At the time, female journalists did not write under their legal names. Nellie wanted to prove to the men that called working woman were a monstrosity wrong, she wanted to prove that men are not superior to woman. "At times putting her safety at risk, she persisted throughout her career in exposing real monstrosities, pretending to be a sweatshop worker and a patient in a mental hospital to show how badly people were being treated".

The fifth woman shown is Virginia Apgar. Virginia was an obstetrical anesthesiologist. Her older brother passed away from tuberculosis before she was even born, while her other brother Lawrence was bedridden for much of his childhood. She had a passion for becoming a doctor which was highly discouraged because she was a woman."Nevertheless, she persisted, becoming an anesthesiologist and creating the Apgar score to test a newborn baby's health, which hospitals all over the world still use today". She is best known for creating the Apgar score which is performed immediately after delivery. The Apgar score measures an infant’s skin color, pulse, reflex, muscle tone, and respiration, quickly indicating whether the newborn needs immediate attention to stay alive. This was revolutionary because it was the first clinical method to recognize the newborn’s needs as a patient. Her career didn't stop there, Virginia became a pivotal figure in redirecting the March of Dimes mission in the 1960s from polio to birth defects and other infant health problems such as premature birth. She was the first medical leader at the March of Dimes to recognize prematurity as serious problem that demanded a focus on the importance of early prenatal care and healthy pregnancy. She initiated March of Dimes programs to promote rubella immunization, urging the passage of a bill that included appropriations for such immunization before a U.S. Senate committee in 1969. By the end of her career had authored more than 70 publications on anesthesiology, newborn resuscitation and birth defects. Her slogan was "be good to your baby before it is born".

The sixth woman shown is Maria Tallchief. At the age of 17, Maria moved to New York City to pursue her dreams of becoming a dancer. She went from company to company but many discriminated against her because of her Native American ancestry. She was finally selected as an understudy in the Ballet Russe, the premier Russian ballerina company in the United States. As her career began to take off, many tried to persuade her to change her last name so that dance companies would not discriminate against her. Maria refused. "She persisted, ignoring all the taunting and poor advice, to become the first great American prima ballerina". One of her best known roles was as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. Maria performed at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 1960, making her the first American to do so. After retiring from dancing, she and her sister opened the Chicago City Ballet, a ballet school and dance company. Never forgetting her Native American ancestry, she spoke out against injustices and discrimination. As prima ballerina, Maria not only broke barriers for Native Americans, she also became one of the only Americans recognized in European ballet companies.

The seventh woman shown is Claudette Colvin. In my opinion, claudette is not talked about enough in American History in our schools. Claudette was a member of the NAACP youth council. On March 2, 1955 she was on the Capital Heights bus coming home from school. Buses were segregated at the time so she sat in the back of the bus. Even though at the time there was specific sections for POC and white folks, if the bus became too crowded, POC were forced to stand to let the white folks sit down, even in their section. The bus on this day was overcrowded and the bus driver names Robert W. Cleere ordered her and three other woman in the back of the bus to give up their seats to the white woman. Three of the woman moved but a woman in particular named Ruth Hamilton got up and went to sit by Claudette. When both of the woman refused to move the police were called.The police rearranged some seats so that Ruth could be seated but Claudette refused to move. She was arrested that day and charged with disturbing the peace, as well as assault and violating the segregation law. "In her refusal to get up, she persisted in taking a stand for what's right, helping to inspire Rosa parks to make the same choice nine months later, an act many point to as starting the modern Civil Rights Movement". After her arrest, Claudette was one of the plaintiffs of the historic court case Browder v. Gayle, which determined that segregation was illegal. The district court’s decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the original ruling. The verdict of this case was a historic step for POC, as it officially led to the end of segregation and the signing of the 14th amendment.

The eighth woman shown is Ruby Bridge. When Ruby was in kindergarten, many schools across America still refused POC students their equal right to an education. This was mostly shown in the South. When Ruby was a little girl, she was active in the civil rights struggle. She was one of six black students in New Orleans who passed the test determining whether or not they could attend the all-white school in early 1960. The school district dragged its feet, delaying her admittance until November 14. Two of the other students decided not to leave their school at all; the other three were sent to the all-white McDonough Elementary School. Ruby and her mother were escorted by four federal marshals to Frantz Elementary School every day that year. She had racial slurs screamed at her, a woman even held a Black baby doll in a coffin. Horrible, evil people. Barbara Henry, a white Boston native, was the only teacher willing to accept Ruby, and all year, she was a class of one. She ate lunch alone and sometimes played with her teacher at recess, but she never missed a day of school that year. Unfortunately, her family suffered. Her father lost his job and the grocery stores refused to sell to her mother. Her share-cropping grandparents were evicted from the farm where they had lived for a quarter-century."Ruby wouldn't be treated like a second-class student, and she persisted, walking for weeks past angry, hateful protestors to integrate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans". In 1964, artist Norman Rockwell celebrated her courage with a painting of that first day entitled, “The Problem We All Live With." Ruby is now 67 years old. Many believe this happened before our time.. this is still a very recent event in our history. A lifelong activist for racial equality, in 1999, Ruby established The Ruby Bridges Foundation to promote tolerance and create change through education. In 2000, she was made an honorary deputy marshal in a ceremony in Washington, DC.

The ninth woman shown is Margaret Chase Smith. Margaret was the first woman to serve both a U.S. representative and a U.S. senator. She was also the first woman to have her name placed in nomination for president by a major party. Often the only woman in the Senate, she chose not to limit herself to "women's issues," making her mark in foreign policy and military affairs. That would have been enough for the history books but she wasn't done there. "Instead, she persisted in Championing women's rights and more opportunities for women in the military, standing up for free speech and supporting space exploration; the head of NASA once noted that we wouldn't have put a man on the moon without Margaret.

The tenth woman shown is Sally Ride. Sally always had interest in science, her parents never understood why but they encouraged her to follow her passion. Still to this day, men are looked at as the superior to math and science in particular. Sally always believed woman could succeed in both of those careers. She helped to develop a robotic arm that space shuttles and later the International Space Station would use to launch and retrieve satellites. Before her famous flight, Challenger, she appeared on the covers of Newsweek and other magazines. Reporters hit her with sexist questions, but she managed to respond with humor and a smile. During one news conference she was asked, “Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?” She laughed and gestured to her crewmate Hauck, replying, “Why don’t people ask Rick those questions?”. When shuttle Columbia broke up on reentry in 2003, Sally again was appointed to the investigative panel, becoming the only person to serve on the commissions investigating both space shuttle tragedies. "Although not everyone agreed, she persisted, and she became the first American woman in space". Sally also created science and engineering programs specifically for young girls. Sally and Tam (wife) began working together to write science books for the youth. Their 6 books included “The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space,” which won the American Institute of Physics’ Children’s Science Writing Award in 1995. They also shared a concern about the lack of women in science and engineering careers. To narrow the gender gap, they came up with the idea of starting an education company. In 2001 they started, Sally Ride Science. One of her goals in starting Sally Ride Science was to make sure girls and boys of all backgrounds could see role models who looked like them. Sally Ride Science hosted more than 100 science festivals, published 90 science books for upper elementary and middle school students, and trained hundreds of educators on how to incorporate diverse role models into science lessons. Sally played a key role in the emerging national conversation on the importance of diversity and inclusion in science education and careers.

The eleventh woman shown is Florence Griffith Joyner. Florence also known as, Flo Jo, held a 33 year old Olympic record for being the fastest woman. She was not just known for speed either, she was visible for her fashion, flowing hair, and long fingernails while the other runners would highly avoid that as they were afraid it would slow them down. On visits to the desert, where her father still lived, she kept in shape for running by chasing jackrabbits. She actually managed to catch one or two, she recalled. "Even when she had to leave college to help support her family, she persisted in her training on the track, then went back to school and got faster and faster".

The twelfth woman shown is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah had a very troubled childhood. She dealt with sexual abuse from multiple men that were friends of her mother and relatives. She was made fun of in school for wearing clothes made out of potato sacks, her family was very poor. Oprah ended up moving with her father which is where she blossomed. She began working in radio and television broadcasting. Oprah's grandmother expected her to follow in her footsteps and become a maid. "She persisted in turning her dreams into her reality and became a media superstar, working in movies, books, magazines, theater and, most of all, television, where The Oprah Winfrey Show remains the highest-rated talk show of all time".

The thirteenth woman shown is Sonia Sotomayor. Sonia was always fascinated in fictional judges on television. Her first leanings toward the justice system began after watching an episode of the television show Perry Mason. Sonia was born in the Bronx and her parents were both native Puerto Ricans. Her father passed away when she was 9 and her mother had to work 6 days a week as a nurse. Sonia knew she had to learn to speak English fluently and study hard to wear a judges robe one day. "She persisted, eventually becoming a Supreme Court justice and the first-ever Latina to sit on America's highest court". Sonia has specifically fought for the protection of affirmative action programs. She wrote a 58 page dissent in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, which held that prohibitions to state universities from considering race in admission decisions was constitutional.

One word for all of this, motivation. Young girls need to see that anything is possible. Men are not superior to woman. That stigma needs to change, these woman all played an important role for where we are today. Highly recommend this book!

"So, if anyone ever tells you no, if anyone ever says your voice isn't important or your dreams are too big, remember these woman. They persisted and so can you".

This is definitely more than a review. When I get going, I cannot stop. You should definitely get this book for your littles! You won't be disappointed. It can open up so many more conversations. Woman can do anything men can do. The gender stereotypes can only change with us.