This month, we celebrate Women’s History Month, an annual observance highlighting the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. On March 12, 1987, the United States Congress passed Public Law 100-9, designating March 1987 as “Women’s History Month” and requesting the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people to observe this month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.¹ Each subsequent year, the President has issued a proclamation. You can access this year’s proclamation here.

Today also marks the International Women’s Day, with the first reported Women’s Day event, called National Woman’s Day, held on February 28, 1909, in New York City, organized by the Socialist Party of America at the suggestion of activist Theresa Malkiel.²

Today, I want to honor five Puerto Rican women who broke barriers in a world dominated by men and made our world a better place.

Celestina Cordero (1787 – 1862), a “freewoman” and educator, who founded the first school for girls in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1820. Despite facing racial discrimination as a black free woman, she continued to pursue her goal of teaching others regardless of their race or social standing.³

Lola Rodríguez de Tió (1843 – 1924), was the first Puerto Rican-born woman poet to establish herself as a great poet throughout all of Latin America. A believer in women’s rights, she was also committed to the abolition of slavery and the independence of Puerto Rico.⁴

Rosa A. González (1889 – 1981), a nurse, author, feminist, and activist, established various health clinics throughout Puerto Rico and founded The Association of Registered Nurses of Puerto Rico. In 1929, Gonzalez wrote a book titled “Los Hechos Desconocidos” (The Unknown Facts), denouncing discrimination against women and nurses in Puerto Rico. Her book convinced James R. Beverley, the Interim Governor of Puerto Rico, to sign Ley 77 (Law 77) in May 1930, establishing a Nurses Examining Board. In 1978, she became the first recipient of the Public Health Department of Puerto Rico Garrido Morales Award.⁵

Dr. Josefina Rivera de Álvarez (1923 – 2010), an educator, researcher, and historian. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts from the Inter-American University, a Master’s in Hispanic Studies from Columbia University, and a PhD from the Central University of Madrid. She was a professor at the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez Campus, where I had the honor of being one of her students in 1993. In the same year, she and her husband received the “Humanists of the Year” award from the Puerto Rican Foundation of the Humanities for their outstanding humanistic contributions through their work. She was a member of the Puerto Rican Academy of History, the Puerto Rican Academy of the Spanish Language, the Academy of History of Madrid, the Academy of Geography and History of Guatemala, the National Academy of History of the Republic of Venezuela, and the Dominican Academy of History.⁶ I wrote about her in my post “Reflections on the Spanish Language and My Learning Journey”.

Antonia Coello Novello (1944 – ), is a Puerto Rican physician and public health administrator. She served as the 14th Surgeon General of the United States from 1990 to 1993, being the first woman and first Hispanic to hold this position.⁷

I want to conclude this post with a poem by Ayesha Islam, published on the International Women’s Day website.

Let's Fly Together
 
Let's flap our wings and fly together,
Break the chains of patriarchy forever. 
We stand united, hand in hand,
No longer silent, we take a stand.
 
We need more women in leadership roles,
Their ideas, their vision, and their goals.
We own our bodies, we own our minds,
We leave oppression far behind.
 
We lift each other up, we amplify our voice,
We fight for our rights and our choice,
Together we'll reach the highest of heights,
And achieve our goals with all our might.
 
Let's build a world where love conquers hate,
And create a future we'll all celebrate.
Not just a dream, but a reality to see,
Where women are truly, completely, free.
 
Ayesha Islam

Thank you to all the women in my WordPress community for your contributions and awesomeness.

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1. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-101/pdf/STATUTE-101-Pg99.pdf ↩︎
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Women’s_Day ↩︎
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celestina_Cordero ↩︎
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Rodríguez_de_Tió ↩︎
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_A._González ↩︎
6. https://enciclopediapr.org/content/josefina-rivera-de-alvarez/ ↩︎
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonia_Novello ↩︎
8. https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Missions/19411/Let-s-Fly-Together-An-IWD-poem-on-women-s-solidarity-leadership-and-equality ↩︎

• History