Boston Marches Into Women’s History Month

A pivotal player in the fight for American independence, Boston is one of the oldest cities in the U.S. and was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, including the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Bunker Hill. Notable women played roles through all that and the centuries that followed, as visitors will discover during Women’s History Month in Beantown.

Groups can walk through women’s history tours spotlighting the Revolutionary War and other historical events, attend seminars at the Boston Public Library, visit art galleries featuring works by women and sample the excellence of Boston’s women-owned restaurants. Following is a look at some of what’s in store:

• Boston Women’s Heritage Trail. Created in 1989 by a group of Boston Public School teachers and students to highlight the overlooked contributions of women to Boston’s history, the BWHT showcases both well-known figures like Abigail Adams and Phillis Wheatley as well as lesser-known leaders like Julia O’Connor and Melnea Cass—300+ landmarks across the city in all, with self-guided walking tours in 14 Boston neighborhoods.
• African American Women in 19th-Century Cambridge. This walking tour is a partnership between a History Department course at Harvard College and the Cambridge Black History Project to provide an opportunity to visit and interact with the spaces that influential Black women in Cambridge inhabited during the 19th century. Historical figures include Harriet Jacobs, Charlotte Hawkins Brown, Alberta V. Scott, Pauline Hopkins, Maria Baldwin, and Mary Walker.

  

• Gallery Talk: Returning Their Gaze—Portraits of American Women. Learn about a few of the 19th-century American women whose portraits are displayed in the Harvard Art Museum galleries. This March 6th talk by graduate curatorial intern Saffron Hooper Sener will explore Portrait of a Young Woman in White by Julien Hudson, Woman with Spectacles by William Matthew Prior, Portrait of a Young Woman by Joshua Johnson, and Harriet Leavens by Ammi Phillips. If you miss the talk, you can still visit the exhibits.

• A Celebration of International Women Winemakers. On March 8, join wine educator Erika Frey at the Commwealth Wine School for a celebration of women winemakers and producers in honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Taste the wines and hear the unique stories of women who are currently helping to shape the wine industry with their passion, skills and experience.
• Revolutionary Women Tour. Discover the indomitable women who took part in the American Revolution, and the generations of women that followed, inaugurating their own struggles for freedom and equality. Walk the Freedom Trail and explore four centuries of Revolutionary Women who changed history – featuring Anne Hutchinson, Mary Dyer, Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Phillis Wheatley, and Susan B. Anthony. Through March 30.
• International Women’s Day. On March 11, the Boston Public Library hosts an evening of thought-provoking dialogue and meaningful connections. This year’s event begins with a dynamic panel discussion featuring influential women leaders who are driving change in area communities. Following the panel, the evening moves to the iconic Fairmont Copley Plaza for a special networking reception to continue the conversation and foster new connections.

Events continue through the month in Boston. For a complete list, including women-led kitchens like Estragon Tapas Bar and Grace by Nia, visit Meet Boston’s WHM page.