Looking Back
From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History
accessible at www.djnfoundation.org
Happy Women’s History Month
T
his month, we celebrate
the achievements of
women in America.
Since 1995, U.S. presidents have
declared March
as Women’s
History Month,
and March 8 as
International
Women’s Day.
This month also
marks the 100th
year anniversary
of the first bat
mitzvah in the United States.
I decided to explore the
topic of local Women’s Days in
the William Davidson Digital
Archive of Jewish Detroit
History. Beyond a celebratory
day, the evidence of women’s
progress over the last hundred
years is readily apparent as one
reads the reports and stories in
the JN and Jewish Chronicle. This
is not to say that there isn’t more
work to be done toward gender
equality, but the role of women,
especially since the 1960s and
1970s, has been radically trans-
formed in America and Jewish
Detroit. Women have increas-
ingly entered the public arena
as leaders in politics, civic and
communal organizations, and
religion.
The first widely recognized
day to celebrate women was
National Woman’s Day in 1909.
It was subsequently designated
International Woman’s Day
and later became International
Women’s Day. Moreover, accord-
ing to recent research, it was a
Jewish woman who proposed
the idea that holds until today.
Russian-born Theresa
Malkiel was a Jewish labor
activist in New York City. She
had immigrated to America
with her family in 1891 and
began working in the city’s gar-
ment industry. It was an era of
low pay, long hours, dangerous
work and few protections for
workers. The worst example
of such abysmal working con-
ditions was witnessed in 1911.
That year, the famous Triangle
Shirtwaist Factory experienced
a massive fire that killed 146
people including 123 women
and girls who had been locked
into their work area by the fac-
tory bosses.
Malkiel became an activist,
educator, writer and vocal
proponent for women’s equal-
ity and suffrage. In 1909, she
proposed the first National
Woman’s Day. It grew into a
globally celebrated event long
before the United Nations
adopted International Women’s
Day (IWD) in 1977.
The Davidson Archive holds
some reports about IWD cele-
brations in Jewish Detroit. Early
announcements, for example,
cite the Pioneer Women’s
Organization holding celebra-
tions of IWD in the 1940s.
What I really found interest-
ing, however, were the various
other Women’s Days held by
local Jewish organizations.
The Cohn-Haddow Center for
Judaic Studies at Wayne State
University, in partnership with
the Jewish Federation of Metro
Detroit and Congregation
Shaarey Zedek, held a Jewish
Women’s Day of Learning in
2016. The keynote speaker was
Rabbi Carole Balin. A female
rabbi is also an example of
women’s progress (May 5, 2016,
JN). This event followed many
years of Federation-sponsored
Women’s Day of Learning
events in the 1990s and 2000s
— with many partners, such as
the JN.
I also enjoyed the Women’s
Day announcement from
Fiddler International Dining
on Orchard Lake Road in
March 2001. In a celebration
dedicated to IWD, the Fiddler
sponsored a female voice
contest where diners could
vote for their favorite singer
(March 2, 2001, JN).
My wife, Pam, tells me that
“every day is a woman’s day.
” I
believe her, of course (could I
do otherwise?). The proof of
this is in the Davidson Archives.
Happy Women’s History
Month.
Want to learn more? Go to the DJN
Foundation archives, available for
free at www.djnfoundation.org.
Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair
62 | MARCH 24 • 2022