March is Womens’ History Month–commemorating and encouraging the study and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. We celebrate and recognize the countless women who have fought tirelessly and courageously for equality, justice, and opportunity in our Nation. This month also serves as a reminder for the continual fight to advance rights and opportunities for women and girls in the United States and around the world.
What is the significance of March? On March 13, 1913, the Womens’ Suffrage Parade in Washington, D.C., took place, where more than 8,000 women gathered to demand a constitutional amendment guaranteeing their right to vote. On March 22, 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment was then passed in the Senate. Furthermore, In 1980, then-President Jimmy Carter declared March 2nd-8th as National Womens’ History Week. After realizing there’s entirely too much womens’ history to squeeze into seven days, Congress passed Public Law 100-9 in 1987, proclaiming March as Womens’ History Month.
Wilson High School is celebrating big this month for Womens’ History Month. Female Leadership Academy (FLA)—a club dedicated to empowering women on campus—have taken charge and have put together an exciting collection of activities and events planned for students and faculty. In the past, the organization has participated in beach clean-ups, protests, holiday toy and food drives, and have even helped better Wilson High School at an LBUSD summit. Last year’s Womens’ History Month, FLA made a mural of all the powerful and strong women who have made a difference.
Zoey Lambe-Hommel (FLA Leader) shares she’s “excited to [be a part of FLA] in a community of strong women.” Participating in other community events such as protests, marches, and speeches, Zoey feels that “[being a leader means] to be strong, kind, and virtuous…and to be true to yourself.”

Anika Stewart (Vice President of FLA) says that being a leader “…Means getting involved. You don’t have to run the entire event. You don’t have to be the main face. Getting involved actively shows that you care. And whether that be you are in the background helping organize—you’re in stage crew helping set up the lighting—or even donating to a cause in the future, getting involved and actively trying to make a change is what I think it means to start leading.”
“Despite beliefs that you have to do this crazy thing, the smallest piece of involvement will make a difference”, Anika shares.
FLA kicked off the first day of Womens’ History Month by holding a lunch rally. Students wrote thank you letters to women who inspired them, whether it was a friend, teacher, or parent/guardian. There were also a variety of fun Women’s History Month themed stickers that students could take to put on their water bottle or give to a friend. This successful celebration brought an immense amount of cheer and energy to the coming festivities that are to follow.  
Anika Stewart (Vice President of FLA) shares that “[FLA is] gonna make the month a bit more extreme than in the recent years of Wilson because we feel like, one: we’re the club to make it happen, and two: why not go big.” There will be more spirit days scattered throughout the month to keep people engaged and students will even be surveyed to hear what kind of activities they want to see.
Following that event, FLA also hosted a women’s shelter drive and a Women’s History Colors dress day of wearing purple, green, and white so students and faculty could show their support to the community. Students donated necessities that women and children needed to Interval House, a crisis shelter and center for victims of domestic violence, and also earned some Gold W points in the process. There was a phenomenal turnout for both events and our bruins showed their spirit for Women’s History Month.
When asked ‘Why do we celebrate Women’s History Month’, Anika shares, “Giving young women, even young students, an outlet to feel involved—feel like they are doing something—does something. It’s great for people to be seen, and why not have fun?”
With an Activist Dress Day, where students represented empowering women by wearing Women’s History Month inspired shirts, and a Dress like Rosie the Riveter day, Wilson’s campus was decked out in support.
Along with that, two empowering guest speakers shared their stories and inspired many students with their words. Jyoti Nanda—a proud immigrant and the daughter of parents who were refugees and immigrants from Pakistan/India and Kenya, who is now studying criminal law and juvenile law—and Liane Su—an Executive Producer for TV who states, “…I combine my journalism background with my love for culture and transformation compelling stories into innovative entertainment while growing business revenue”—are two powerful women that share how they have paved their way to success.
For the grand finale, on March 31st at 6pm, FLA has planned a Women’s History Month Show where female students that help make Wilson unique will be showcased. This is the cherry on top to the wonderful activities that FLA worked hard to plan. Along with free entry for students and parents, there will be singing, dancing, sports, inspirational speaking, and more. Wilson’s empowerment groups—FLA, Z-Girls, Young Black Scholars, AAPI—and women in Arts (dance team, musical theater, etc…), along with women’s sports, will be highlighted.
Dayne Rash-Arguell (FLA President), states that the goal of the show is to, “highlight amazing groups at Wilson who are women, shout them out, and show people how amazing they are.”
Along with these groups being spotlighted, there will be games and t-shirts thrown to the audience.  You don’t want to miss it!
This month of celebrating Women’s History Month was an outstanding success and couldn’t have been done without the help from Female Leadership Academy and all of the supporting students and faculty at Wilson High School.

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