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Today–as Mother’s Day approaches–take a few moments to help preserve the history of the unsung yet influential mothers and daughters who came before us and who significantly contributed to the growth of our nation. Tomorrow the House will vote on the first ever National Women’s History museum, so your action today could make a big difference.
The mission of the National Women’s History Museum (NWHM) is to educate, inspire, empower, and shape the future by integrating women’s distinctive history into the culture and history of the United States. The NWHM, founded in 1996, has been a privately funded institution since its inception.
However, the museum needs Congressional approval for a permanent home on or close to the National Mall in Washington, DC—prime real estate for national museums. Legislation (H.R. 863 and S. 398) is pending that would create a commission to make a recommendation for a site and would explore how the Museum would be funded. The Commission will be underwritten with private funding.
With a vote in the House scheduled for May 7, today is the day to honor the mothers and daughters of the United States by urging your Member of Congress to vote for a home for the National Women’s History Museum. Show your support—today—by writing to your Member of Congress. The link will lead you to an easy-to-use interface on the museum’s website; you can generate emails to your senators and representative in just a few minutes.
In the past, bills have passed the House on a voice vote and twice in the Senate on unanimous consent but never in the same Congress. On April 9, the House Resources Committee passed HR 863, The National Women’s History Museum Commission Act—the second House committee to pass the legislation unanimously. The bill passed with two technical amendments. One amendment removes the reference to the building site on the National Mall at Independence Avenue between 14th and 15th Streets. This amendment does not prohibit the Commission from looking at that site or any other federally owned sites near the Mall. The second amendment added “operations” (establishment and maintenance) to the list of reports that will be submitted by the Commission to Congress.
Why create a national women’s history museum? Women’s contributions and accomplishments have been largely been left out of mainstream culture. The purpose of the NWHM is not to rewrite history, but rather to promote scholarship and expand the public’s knowledge of American history.
The NWHM will be the first museum in any nation’s capital to show the full scope of the history of its women—and Congressional approval of this tribute to women in history is a fitting mother’s day gift for American women in 2014.