On this day in 1957, nine black students began their first full day of classes at previously all-white Central High in Little Rock. Entry required an armed escort from the U.S. Army, over the objection of Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus. Six girls were part of the “Little Rock 9.” #WeTheMen

On this day in 1825, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born. She became an abolitionist, suffragist, and the first African American woman to publish a short story. #WeTheMen

On this day in 1863, Mary Church Terrell was born. She became a lifelong advocate for racial and sex equality. In the 1910s, she picketed the White House for woman suffrage. In 1953, at age 89, she won a Supreme Court judgment that racially segregating restaurants in DC was illegal. #WeTheMen

On this day in 1838, Victoria Woodhull was born. She became a suffragist, “free love” advocate, and the first American woman to run for president. In 1872, as the candidate for the newly formed Equal Rights Party, Woodhull won no electoral votes from male electorate. #WeTheMen

On this day in 1922, women won enactment of the Cable Act, which permitted some U.S. women to keep their citizenship when marrying a foreigner. This legislative victory was a first step toward recognizing that women’s citizenship should not be contingent on which man they married. #WeTheMen

On this day in 1981, the Senate voted to confirm Sandra Day O’Conner’s nomination to the United States Supreme Court. O’Connor was the first woman on the Court. To date, only 6 women have served as Justices, compared to 110 men. #WeTheMen

On this day in 1973, tennis great Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, a former No. 1 ranked men’s player, in straight sets during a “Battle of the Sexes” exhibition match that drew a TV audience of 90 million. King said: “I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn’t win that match.” #WeTheMen

On this day in 1884, the Equal Rights Party nominated Belva Ann Lockwood to run for president against Grover Cleveland. She received 4,149 votes. Unfortunately, Cleveland—who opposed woman suffrage—received 4,874,986 votes. #WeTheMen

OTD in 1907, Justice Lewis Powell was born. He often assumed that sex discrim—like race discrim—was over. In 1983, he could not “imagine a law firm deliberately discriminating against somebody if the firm made a judgment that the individual would increase the profits of the law firm.” #WeTheMen

On this day in 1893, women in New Zealand won the right to vote for parliament. Nevertheless, US newspapers continued to proclaim in the decades before the 19th Amend prohibited sex-based disenfranchisement: “Our women are the freest in the world, enjoying every privilege of citizenship.” #WeTheMen

On this day in 2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died at age 87. Eight days later, President Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacant seat. Barrett voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. #WeTheMen

www.npr.org/2020/09/18/1...

On this day in 1787, thirty-nine white male delegates signed the United States Constitution. In principle, the Constitution speaks for “We the People.” In practice, powerful Americans have too often limited constitutional protections to #WeTheMen.
#ConstitutionDay

On this day in 1928, Patricia McGowan Wald was born. She became the 1st woman on the D.C. Circuit. Clerking for her was an honor. (I also remember this couch.)

Check out this oral history to learn more about Judge Wald’s amazing life and career. #WeTheMen

www.law.nyu.edu/centers/ija-...

On this day in 1970, Gale Carrigan of the UAW spoke for the ERA & against sex-specific restraints on women’s work: “Our own experience has proven to us that those so-called state ‘protective’ laws are the real deterrents to obtaining equal pay and equal opportunity for working women.” #WeTheMen

On this day in 1948, Margaret Chase Smith won election to the Senate. She was a longtime ERA supporter & an early opponent of McCarthyism. In 1964, while running for president, she helped protect Title 7’s prohibition on sex discrimination in employment as the bill went through the Senate. #WeTheMen

Nashville International Airport is on track to be renamed for Dolly Parton. Next time I’m visiting Tennessee, I look forward to “Departin’ from Parton.”

But why are so few airports named for women? #WeTheMen

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/t...

On this day in 1859, Florence Kelley was born. She became a social reformer, ran the National Consumers League, and co-founded the NAACP. She fought for women’s rights, racial equality, and better working conditions. #WeTheMen

On this day in 1920, Alice Paul urged women to mobilize in the wake of the Nineteenth Amendment’s ratification. She observed that “the fight for full equality” had “just begun” and warned: “Unless women are prepared to fight politically they must be content to be ignored politically.” #WeTheMen

On this day in 1834, an angry white mob attacked the school that Prudence Crandall had opened to educate African American girls in Connecticut. The mob destroyed furniture & smashed most of the school’s windows.
A few months earlier, Connecticut had arrested Crandall & placed her on trial. #WeTheMen