Women’s History Month is celebrated in March of each year. The Michigan eLibrary (MeL) includes articles and eBooks about women who continue making history. Using MasterFILE Complete, History Reference Center, and the eBook Public Library Collection, here are some Michigan women who have made their imprint on history.

Change Agents

Najah Bazzy, founder of Zaman International, a Michigan non-profit that seeks to help people out of poverty, was profiled in People, a part of MasterFILE Complete, for her work to alleviate poverty in the Dearborn area. She has spearheaded the creation of workforce development courses in culinary arts and sewing, as well as GED preparation courses. Betty Ford, wife of President Gerald R. Ford, is included in the eBook 50 Trailblazers of the 50 States in the eBook Public Library Collection for her work surrounding addiction treatment and her outspoken stance on women’s rights.

Firsts

MasterFILE Complete includes publications that share firsts of Michigan women. Dr. Merze Tate is noted as a “first” in many capacities—the first African American woman to graduate from Western Michigan Teachers College (now Western Michigan University), as well as the first African American woman to attend the University of Oxford. Several more of her firsts are included in a Chicago Citizen profile. The Tate Memorial Library in Blanchard, Michigan is named in her memory. The first African American president of the American Library Association was Clara Stanton Jones, a Michigan Librarian. Jones authored an article in Library Journal which shared information about Detroit and the Detroit Public Library as the ALA Conference was headed there in 1977 after the first part of the Renaissance Center opened.

Artists

From singers to authors, Michigan has produced many great artists. Diana Ross is among the influential Motown stars featured in 40 Inspiring Icons: Black Music Greats in the eBook Public Library Collection. History Reference Center includes several articles about author Edna Ferber, who was born in Kalamazoo and wrote many books, short stories, and plays throughout her career.

Even More Women of Note

Michigan has been home to more notable women such as pilot Harriet Quimby, the first woman to make a solo flight across the English Channel; journalist Helen Thomas who was in the press corps for eight presidents from John F. Kennedy to Bill Clinton; and entrepreneur Andra Rush who founded a trucking firm and gives back by helping to pay tuition for her employees.

Use the MeL eResources to learn about these Michigan women, as well as many other women of note, all year long.

If you have any MeL eResources questions or issues, contact [email protected] for help.