Who are the women who inspire you? Public figures, historic change makers or perhaps women you know personally and admire. Our communities are home to countless inspirational women – friends and neighbors, teachers and community leaders - yet their stories are seldom told. Now, you’re invited to enter the WomensActivism.NYC Story Writing Contest for a chance to win prizes of $500, $350 and $150 by sharing the important role these women played in your life, your community or the world.
WomensActivism.NYC is a project spearheaded by the NYC Department of Records and Information Services (DORIS) in celebration of the 100th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the United States. The stories collected for the contest will be preserved by the Municipal Archives to inspire future generations. The goal is to collect 20,000 stories honoring women across the globe by the close of 2020.
This is your opportunity to help write the women who inspire you into history.
The contest is sponsored by the New York Archival Society, which acts as a fiscal agent, advocate, and promoter of the City's archives and library. Story submissions will be accepted from July 15 – August 15, 2020. Winners will be announced by August 25, 2020. For contest rules and guidelines visit NYArchivalSociety.
On August 26, 2020, the centennial of women’s suffrage in the U.S., DORIS will mark the occasion by lighting up the New York City skyline in purple and holding a virtual write-in event. For more information, please email: womensactivism@records.nyc.gov.
Read the stories of these inspiring women, add your own, and, maybe, win a prize!
Helen Praeger Young
Helen Praeger Young, 1932 – Today. By Ann Reisenauer
My neighbor, Helen Young, is a remarkable woman. She’s an ardent supporter of women’s rights, a role model and mentor for many women including myself. Although she’s now in her 80s, she’s still feisty and outspoken. She’s played many roles in her life – mother, teacher, writer, and women’s rights activist. When she went back to college in her 40s, her classmates were the same age as her kids. But that didn’t stop her. She moved to China and learned another language and culture in her late 40s and 50s. She gave her first academic paper and published a book about women Red Army soldiers on the Long March in her 60s, and presented her first paper at an international conference at 70. Although Helen’s been a feminist her entire life, she became more active in the women’s movement while teaching at the Beijing Foreign Studies University. There she was a founder of the Women’s Studies Forum and later started a branch of WSF at Stanford as a visiting scholar. In 1995 Helen was an NGO delegate to the 4th UN conference on Women in Beijing. Helen is still going strong in her 80s – championing women’s rights and pushing for adoption locally of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This major UN treaty says that all discrimination against girls and women must end. The US is one of six countries left to ratify this treaty. Helen is working to change that. Helen’s advice for others: “If there’s an issue that interests you, learn what you can, find an organization to work with and get busy. Try to generate enthusiasm – but stay with it.” What keeps her motivated? She wants to see CEDAW implemented while she’s still alive – that and stubbornness, the key to success.
Annie Harper
Annie Harper, 1920 – 2015, by Sandye Wilson
Annie Harper was fearless, unyielding, bigger-than-life, and at times, a bit of a tyrant. She was tough. Annie was Born in Saluda, South Carolina, on October 19, 1920 or ...maybe it was October 20. Annie often said, ‘They didn’t always get the birth certificate right with colored folks back then, but, no matter… I am here.’ Yes, she was. Annie Harper was SO here. She was a nurse and a matriarch to many. Annie had a no-nonsense demeanor; a big laugh and personality but she didn’t suffer fools, lightly. Incredibly generous, there were many folks that counted on her in some kind of way... whether they needed money or food or a way out of a situation that was much too painful for them. Annie gave without expecting in return. She was direct and stern but supported anyone in need. She taught me to do the same; to walk in other's shoes; to live in truth and integrity and to always be in service...but not to be a fool. Annie was something... She filled my childhood with laughter, southern rituals, church, car trips up north, coconut pies, boiled peanuts, fried fish with biscuits and Annie-isms that will last a lifetime. One of my fondest memories was when my boyfriend and I went to visit Annie in Columbia, South Carolina, in the 1980’s before we took a cross country road trip. We had an old, sexy, white, two seater, spitfire car. We were just in the midst of saying our goodbyes… I was a bit teary-eyed when Annie pulled me aside and said ‘Take a little walk with me before you get back on that road.’ She handed me an envelope with a wad of cash in it… I tried to give it back to her. I told her that we had both saved up for the summer for this trip so we were prepared. I wanted her to know I was all grown up. Annie shook her head and said ‘Take this money, you gon’ need it—That car ain’t gonna make it cross country’… She was right. Annie died on June 17, 2015 at age 94. I was unable to stand up and speak at her funeral… I felt my legs and heart unstable… Here’s to Annie: Thank you for the love, the fierce care, for straightening my hair and letting it out so I could feel it down my back… Thank you for making sure I woke up in church in time for the sermon, for sewing my clothes so beautifully, for the car trips, the coconut pies, the money when I needed it. Thank you for sharing the brandy with me when I was finally an adult… and telling me that I could re-invent myself at any time because the world really was mine....
Meghan Farina
Meghan Farina, 1995 - 2008
Meghan’s amazing sense of humor is the first thing you’ll notice about her, next to her warm smile. Although she only was given 13 years with us, in those 13 years she filled everyday with laughs and love. Even after she was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare childhood brain tumor located on the brainstem, her personality was unchanged. Meghan joked with all the nurses and doctors, and kept my family positive in a time that was not. Her perseverance in the difficulty that was thrown at her was and is truly inspiring, refusing to give up. One memory that paints a picture of her wonderful sense of humor and tremendous heart was when she was asked by the Make a Wish Foundation if she had a wish. She could ask for anything in the world, but asked for a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts. My dad asked her if that was all she wanted, and she responded, “Okay… TWO dozen donuts.” She ended up asking to go to the filming of High School Musical 3, but they didn’t have room. When told that she wouldn’t be able to go, my sister apologized for taking too long to decide. This is how my sister was; genuine, giving, hilarious, and strong; and she refused to let this terrible disease change that.
On August 26, 2020, the centennial of women’s suffrage in the U.S., DORIS will mark the occasion by lighting up the New York City skyline in purple and holding a virtual write-in event. For more information, please email: womensactivism@records.nyc.gov
