The call to “Move History Forward” is again being sounded by American women, 30 years after it was first heard in Houston, Texas, in 1977. An October conference at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock will include planning for the 30th anniversary of the first and only meeting of American women sponsored by the federal government. The 1977 National Women’s Conference in Houston is seen as marking a high point in modern women’s influence on government policy. Former conference delegates, feminist leaders, upcoming activists, and many other women involved during these three critical decades will join the planning sessions during the October 21-22 networking conference at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, organized by the National Women’s History Project centered in Santa Rosa, California.

Young women are being recruited (some scholarships are available) to join the impressive roster of national figures and other exceptional women. They include:

Congresswoman Bella Abzug’s daughter, Liz J. Abzug
Civil rights activist and Little Rock 9 defendant Minnijean Brown Trickey
Equal Rights Amendment hunger striker Zoe Nicholson
Veteran feminist and journalist Mal Johnson
Chicano community organizer Gracia Molina de Pick and many others.

These distinguished women will be joined by professors, historians, political leaders, campus organizers, community activists, teachers, college women, high school students and members of the public to look at and celebrate women’s condition today and make plans for the immediate future. Young women from the Feminist Majority and Ms. Magazine will join scholars from the Library of Congress, Rosie the Riveter National Historic Park, etc. in a rare opportunity for education, interaction, and networking. Men and boys are warmly welcome.

Plenary and panel topics range from planning for next year’s anniversary of the Houston conference to looking at women involved throughout society. Some of the panels focus on historical periods like Women Who Served in World War II while others look at topics such as Jewish Women and Feminism, Girls in Government, Enhancing Female Self-Esteem, Strategic Thinking for Women, etc. The voices of Arkansas history makers will also be heard during a women’s historic sites bus tour that will include visits to Central High School, the Clinton Library, and other women’s historic sites in and around Little Rock. Performances and talks during the 2-day meeting will highlight Civil War women, World War II icon Rosie the Riveter, suffrage intellectual Matilda Joslyn Gage, popular artist and creator of the Kewpie doll Rosie O’Neill, and other notable women.

For more information and to register for the conference, visit www.nwhp.org.