Radical Women's History Project

What is the Radical Women’s History Project?

The Radical Women’s History Project (RWHP) is a year long journey to chronicle, via short, date specific facts, the lives and the accomplishments of the world’s women, explicitly centering women of color, indigenous, queer, trans, women with disabilities, and non-Western women

You can read the long version of the genesis of the RWHP here. In short, women and men have been denied for far too long the history of half of the population. When we know what the women before did and overcame, it becomes more possible to see ourselves doing and overcoming.

But just as women have been mostly left out of the broad discourse we call “history,” women of color, indigenous, queer, trans, women with disabilities and non-Western women (and women living within all the intersection thereof) have been further marginalized, mostly left out of or tossed in as an afterthought in feminist attempts to add women to existing history. This is as damaging as leaving women out entirely, servicing kyriarchy by silencing the very voices deemed most threatening and marginalizing the women most threatened due to that fact. These women, ALL women, have a valiant and complicated history – one that women and men of all identities would be better served by knowing.

Who runs the Radical Women’s History Project?

The RWHP was conceived by feminist organizer Shelby Knox in 2011 and implemented on January 1st, 2013. You can read more about my work here and follow me on Twitter here.

Why the “daily facts” format?

The RWHP was initially conceived as a Twitter project and can still be found daily under the #RWHP tag.

The format is also a reflection of my own personal desire to feel connected to the women of history each day. I find it comforting to know that, on this exact date so many years ago, another woman was organizing, overcoming obstacles, and changing the world.

I recognize that there are limitations to this format. For one, 140 characters isn’t enough to tell the rich and wonderful history of each woman or even each fact. There are other blogs — like Chick History — that focus, in depth, on individual women’s contributions. This project serves a different purpose, of daily reminding folks how women have built our society and our world.

What else should I know about the RWHP?

If you have a submission or correction, please email shelbyknoxblog@gmail.com. You can follow the hashtag #RWHP on Twitter and use it to tag items you think should be included. And, of course, follow, tweet about RWHP, and share the link with anyone in your life who could benefit from knowing more about the radical women of history!