March is recognized as National Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the often-overlooked contributions women have made to American history, culture, and society. Each year also features a unique theme for Women’s History Month, with 2025’s theme being Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.
Here at REACH, we wanted to build off the ‘Inspiring Generations’ part of this year’s theme by remembering the women who have inspired us, either directly or indirectly. The following quotes, excerpts, and other materials were provided by members of REACH’s staff and leadership team. If you’d like to learn more about Women’s History Month and this year’s WHM theme, you can head over to the National Women’s History Alliance website.
Amarely Gutiérrez Oliver – REACH Executive Director
REACH’s Executive Director Amarely Gutiérrez Oliver shared the above video spotlighting My Name is Pauli Murray, a 2021 documentary film from directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen. The film chronicles the life and accomplishments of Pauli Murray, a lawyer and author whose work was an instrumental part of the civil rights movement.
Murray dedicated much of her time as a lawyer towards expanding legal protections for racial and gender equality. After enrolling in law school at Howard University in 1944 (and being the only woman in her class), she graduated first in her class but was denied the opportunity to do post-graduate work at Harvard University due to her gender. She referred to both her Harvard rejection and the rampant sexism she encountered at Howard as “Jane Crow,” alluding to the Jim Crow state laws which reinforced racial discrimination.
In 1940, Murray and a friend she was travelling with were arrested for refusing to vacate the white passenger’s section of the bus they were on (a full 15 years before Rosa Parks was arrested for similar crimes). This and other racially discriminatory experiences she witnessed galvanized Murray to actively pursue civil rights law.
As the directors and producers of My Name is Pauli Murray point out, Murray never garnered quite the level of fame as other key figures in the civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King Jr. or the previously mentioned Rosa Parks. However, that doesn’t mean her work was any less impactful. Murray is also celebrated within the transgender and nonbinary communities. While she was born a woman, she often wrote about her struggles with gender identity and how she had an “inverted sex instinct” which led her to routinely identify herself in a masculine or even gender-neutral fashion.
Additional Movies About Women’s Empowerment, Resilience, and Breaking Societal Barriers
Along with My Name is Pauli Murray, Amarely was kind enough to supply this list of additional movies which resonated with her, and which all depict women challenging societal norms, fighting for their rights, and uplifting each other in powerful ways:
- 9 to 5 (1980)
- Yentl (1983)
- Hidden Figures (2016)
- The Color Purple (1985)
- The Joy Luck Club (1993)
- Frida (2002)
- Erin Brockovich (2000)
- Little Women (2019)
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
- The Woman King (2022)
Maria Castañeda – REACH Volunteer Coordinator
Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seek equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination."
This quote embodies the essence of Roosevelt’s lifelong dedication to human rights, social justice, and advocacy for the marginalized. Her commitment to equality and dignity for all makes her a figure I deeply admire.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s impact is so profound that she continues to inspire generations long after her time. Her actions were not mere words but powerful demonstrations of courage and leadership. In honor of her legacy, I have crocheted a doll as a tribute to her spirit, a symbol of her warmth, resilience, and unwavering fight for justice. I have included a photo of the doll, representing my admiration for her work and the ideals she championed.
Often referred to as the “First Lady of the World,” Eleanor Roosevelt was a trailblazer in numerous fields. As a U.S. delegate to the United Nations General Assembly and the first Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Commission in 1946, she played a pivotal role in drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Presenting the document to the General Assembly, she described it as an “international Magna Carta for all men everywhere,” emphasizing its potential to transform human rights globally.
Beyond her work at the United Nations, Roosevelt was a fearless advocate for women’s rights, racial equality, and social justice. She redefined the role of First Lady, using her position to champion the causes of those often ignored by society.
In 1933, she became the first First Lady to hold her own press conference, allowing only female reporters to attend—an intentional move to support women in journalism. She also publicly opposed racial discrimination, resigning from the Daughters of the American Revolution in protest when they refused to allow African American singer Marian Anderson to perform in their auditorium.
Her commitment to civil rights extended to her support of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-Black squadron in the U.S. military. During a visit to Tuskegee Army Air Field in 1941, she took a highly publicized flight with Charles Alfred Anderson, a Black pilot, despite Secret Service concerns. This act not only demonstrated her belief in racial equality but also helped validate the capabilities of Black pilots, challenging segregation within the military and beyond.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s activism was not confined to any single cause. She tirelessly advocated for workers’ rights, visited impoverished communities, and highlighted social injustices in her widely read newspaper column, “My Day.” During World War II, she traveled extensively to support U.S. troops and boost morale, further solidifying her role as a leader and humanitarian.
Eleanor Roosevelt understood that meaningful change begins at the grassroots level, in “small places, close to home.” She used her influence to amplify the voices of the oppressed and push for policies that upheld human dignity. Her life’s work continues to inspire generations, and it is for these reasons that I deeply admire her.
Sarah Holroyd – REACH Director of Development
"Adversity introduces you to yourself." - Sheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg's books, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead and Option B, have profoundly shaped my personal and professional trajectory as a woman. I read Lean In when I was still starting out professionally. It taught me ways to overcome the systemic barriers women face in the workplace. Her advice to "sit at the table" and command a voice, coupled with her direction around challenging the "double bind" that women constantly experience (when likeable and agreeable we are deemed to not have leadership qualities, but when we display ambitious behaviors, we are perceived negatively), have stuck with me for years.
Sandberg’s next book, Option B, was published at a time that I was navigating profound grief while simultaneously experiencing the professional growth and success I had been striving for. Like Sheryl, albeit on a different scale, I was forced to confront my vulnerability while also working hard to show my strength in the workplace, defy gender stereotypes, and mask what I was going through personally. This book was a lifeline for me and helped me redefine what strength meant and therefore fundamentally shifted my understanding of being strong in a professional context, especially as a woman.
From the ability to embrace my vulnerability and build resilience, I became a better version of myself who is more adaptable, empathetic, resourceful, and judicious. I learned that resilience isn't about bouncing back to the old you, it's about bouncing toward the new you.
Patricia Vargas – REACH Director of Finance
March is the month that we recognize women, and I thought what a perfect time to remind those around us of the value of motherhood in our society. When I read ‘The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto’ from research professor Brené Brown’s 2012 book Daring Greatly, I realized the positive impact of strong and caring words.
Nate Hohl – REACH Communications Specialist
“In order to rise from its own ashes, a phoenix first must burn…”
The above passage is from the novel Parable of the Talents, written by African American science fiction author Octavia E. Butler and first published in 1998. Parable of the Talents is the sequel to a previous novel of Butler’s, Parable of the Sower, which was published in 1993.
Butler’s Parable novels, which my mother gifted me copies of for Christmas a few years ago, are frighteningly prophetic in their use of speculative fiction. They’re both set in a “future version” of the United States (Parable of the Sower is set in 2024 while Talents is set in 2032) in which society has grown largely unstable due to unchecked climate change, growing wealth inequality, and rampant corporate greed.
Butler’s writing is captivating, drawing readers in with vivid prose and narration, but it also doesn’t shy away from the horrors that can fester even in a proposed “future” society. Both Parable novels address topics and issues such as racism, sexism, hierarchical thinking, rape, sexual assault, personal growth through hardship, Afrofuturism, and the belief that change is the only constant. Butler’s use of such topics (and the expertise she displays in writing about them) was likely influenced by her own experiences as an African American woman growing up in 1950’s America.
While the Parable novels mainly focus on how larger societies change and evolve in an imagined science fiction-adjacent future, they also highlight one of Butler’s greatest strengths as a fiction writer: detailing the lived experiences of her protagonists. Butler often follows her protagonists from childhood to old age, preferring to face the brutal truths of what they encounter directly rather than shrouding them in allegory as other science fiction writers sometimes do.
Despite being a longtime lover of fiction (particularly fantasy and science fiction), I’d admittedly never heard of Butler before my mom gifted me her Parable novels. I’m very glad she did though, because I feel that reading the Parable books provided me with an essential perspective that, as a white man who has benefited greatly from privilege, I otherwise would not have gotten. I’m grateful to Octavia E. Butler for sharing her unique perspective through a medium that resonated with her, for showing me how captivating science fiction can be even without aliens or talking robots, and for making me a more informed and empathetic writer simply by absorbing the power of her words.
