The American Congress approved a bill in 2020 that could change the way the United States celebrates its history. Included in this bill is the Women’s History Act, legislation that authorizes the creation of a museum to tell the story of women, funded by a combination of federal and private funds.
“For too long, the history of women has been left out of the history of our nation, but with this vote, we begin to correct that,” said Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney from New York, one of the sponsors of the bill, at the time.
The idea of creating a women’s history museum had been circulating in Congress since at least 1998, when Maloney introduced legislation to study the matter. It did not pass at the time, but a Congressional committee on the subject was created in 2014. In 2020, the project finally received the green light to move forward.
The museum, which will be called the American Women’s History Museum, is already being built in the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., by the Smithsonian Institution. It is expected to take about 10 years to complete.
In the meantime, a preview of what will be part of the museum’s collection can already be seen online. The museum’s website features many stories and themes to be explored virtually while the physical structure is not yet ready.
Visit the site: https://womenshistory.si.edu