Celebrate Women's History Month 2024 With Your Local BPL Library
Several BPL locations are hosting programs in honor of the month as well as creating book displays with books by or featuring women that you can check out from the library.
As more programs are created, this blog will be updated with the latest Women's History Month programs. Here are all the programs that the BPL is hosting so far:
Avondale Regional Branch Library | 509 40th Street S, Birmingham, AL 35222
All-Ages Programs
Grab N' Go: Women's History Month Magnet Craft
All month long | During hours of operation
Create your own Women's History Month magnet! This keepsake craft can be completed in the library or picked up to take home. Available while supplies last.
Central Library | 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
All-Ages Programs
Misty Bennett: Candy Crush
Open through Friday, March 29
Open for viewing during hours of operation
Misty Bennett: Candy Crush features vibrant oil paintings of abstract food imagery that expresses the artist's perspective on both the surplus and scarcity of food in the United States of America. Through the use of color and texture, Bennett explores the notion of food as a metaphor for our psychological and emotional states of being. Candy Crush is open for viewing in the First Floor Gallery located in the hallway just past the stairs of the East Building
Stacey Holloway: Othernesses
Open through Friday, March 29
Open for viewing during hours of operation
Stacey Holloway: Othernesses features intriguing animal sculptures and other creations by artist Stacey Holloway. Through the exploration of storytelling and ethology, Holloway creates work that communicates a universal societal connectivity. Othernesses is open for viewing in the Lobby Gallery located on the first floor of the East Building in the display cases by the entrance to the Central Library's parking lot.
Mixed-Ages Programs
Women's Work: Discovering the Occupations of Your Female Ancestors
Wednesday, March 20 | 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Learn how census records, city directories, and more shed light on where and how women worked. This program is intended for Tweens, Teens, and Adults and is happening in person on the 4th floor of the Research Library in the Computer Lab and virtually via Zoom. You can access the Research Library by crossing the skybridge found on the 3rd floor of the East Building. Register to get the Zoom link by visiting the BPL's calendar page.
The opening for Voices Carry: Art by Alabama Women, an Art for Everyone exhibition, at the Central Library is postponed. We will make another announcement with the opening and reception dates as soon as possible.
East Ensley Branch Library | 900 14th Street Ensley, Birmingham, AL 35218
Adult Programs
Women's Hat Tea: Hattitude
Friday, March 15 | 2:00 p.m.
Historically hats have been popular among women, representing wealth, place in society, and religious virtue. Nothing is more southern than women in hats and tea. Come join the fun by strutting your favorite covering and discussing hat history.
Five Points West Regional Branch Library | 4812 Avenue W, Birmingham, AL 35208
Mixed-Ages Programs
Saturday Movie Matinee—Barbie
Saturday, March 16 | 2:00–4:00 p.m.
Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. This program is intended for Teens and Adults.
North Birmingham Regional Branch Library | 2501 31st Avenue N, Birmingham, AL 35207
All-Ages Programs
Yolanda Flowers Speaks
Thursday, March 28 | 1:00 p.m.
Yolanda Flowers will share her life story and journey toward running to become Alabama's first African American governor. She ran in the Democratic Party for Governor of Alabama in 2022.
Adult Programs
"Her"story Keepsake Boxes
Thursday, March 7 | During hours of operation
Celebrate Women's History Month with this special craft! Learn how to make a collage keepsake box using images of iconic women throughout "Her"story. Supplies will be provided.
Pratt City Branch Library | 509 Dugan Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35214
All-Ages Programs
Monday, March 18–Thursday, March 28 | Open for viewing during hours of operation
Come learn Barbie's history, examine her iconic fashions, and many careers. This exhibit explores all things Barbie.
Adult Programs
Alma Thomas: The Artist
Monday, March 18 | 1:30 p.m.
Who doesn't love art? Come learn about the artist who developed a powerful form of abstract painting. And take time and enjoy trying your hand at creating your own inspired Alma Thomas art piece.
Margaret F. Rudkin: Her Story
Thursday, March 28 | 1:30 p.m.
Join us to learn about the remarkable life of an American businesswoman and the Pepperidge Farm Story.
Smithfield Branch Library | 1 8th Avenue W, Birmingham, AL 35204
All-Ages Program
I AM WOMAN Movie Series
Wednesdays, March 6, 13, 20, and 27 | 3:30–5:00 p.m.
Join us for a new movie screening about or featuring women every Wednesday.
Adult Programs
Empowering Women Self-Care Kit
Monday, March 25 | 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Get a self-care kit for women in honor of Women's History Month.
Springville Road Regional Branch Library | 1224 Springville Road, Birmingham, AL 35215
Adult Programs
Fiction Book Club
Tuesday, March 12 | 2:00–3:00 p.m.
March's pick is Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See. Inspired by a true story, this novel follows the life and friendship between physician Tan Yunxian and midwife Meiling in 15th-century China until Yunxian's family sets her up in an arranged marriage and forces her to stop practicing medicine and helping the women around her. Fiction Book Club meets in person and virtually through Zoom. Register to get the Zoom link by visiting the BPL's calendar page.
Titusville Branch Library | 2 6th Avenue SW, Birmingham, AL 35212
All-Ages Programs
Follow Your Own North Star: A Dramatization of the Life of Harriet Tubman
Wednesday, March 27 | 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Famed elocutionist A. Faye Boykin and artist Dr. Ton McDowell will portray Harriet Tubman in a dramatization of the life of this American hero. Viewers will find themselves traveling back in time as Ms. Boykin reenacts events from Tubman's life, becoming immersed in the journey trod by this icon of equality. Participants will learn aspects of Harriet Tubman's life they were previously unaware of through this exciting work of art.
Woodlawn Branch Library | 5709 1st Avenue N, Birmingham, AL 35212
All-Ages Programs
Women's History Month Crossword Puzzles
All month long | During hours of operation
A Women's History Month Crossword Puzzle is a fun and easy way to celebrate this March!
You can find more media spotlights on women on Kanopy, Hoopla, Libby, and Freegal.
Bards & Brews, which happens monthly on the 1st Friday, hosted a Women's History Month themed open mic for March. You can find clips of our poet's performances from that night on the Bards & Brews Facebook page.
How Did Women's History Month Start?
Women's History Month started in 1978 as Women's History Week, a local celebration put on by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the State of Women in Santa Rosa, California. They chose the week of March 8 to incorporate International Women's Day into the celebration. Local Women's History Week observances spread across the country, and in 1980, a collection of women's groups and historians led by the National Women's History Project (now the National Women's History Alliance) successfully lobbied for the week to be recognized nationally.
President Jimmy Carter issued the first Presidential Proclamation in February 1980, declaring the week of March 8th as National Women's History Week. The National Women's History Alliance continued to lobby for it to be a monthlong observation instead of for a weeklong one and Congress finally passed Public Law 100-9 in 1987, which designated March as Women's History Month.
The National Women's History Alliance still chooses the annual theme for March. 2024's theme is "Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion" to recognize women who strive to "eliminate bias and discrimination entirely" so we can have a positive future.
Learn more about women's history on the National Women's History Museum website.
You can find more programs and opportunities for Women's History Month around Birmingham! The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is hosting programs throughout the month; Sidewalk is running a Women in Film Week from Thursday, March 7, through Sunday, March 10; and the Women in Advanced Manufacturing is offering a free 6-month, part-time pre-apprenticeship training program for women of color that starts on Thursday, March 7. These classes will be taught at Lawson State Community College's Bessemer campus.
By Cheyenne Trujillo | Library Assistant Ⅲ, Public Relations
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