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The U.S. has celebrated March as National Women's History Month since 1987. For 2022, the National Women’s History Alliance theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” This theme is both a tribute to the work of caregivers and frontline workers during the ongoing pandemic. Click here to learn more about the history and evolution of Women's History Month!

There are many notable women in Indiana, the three highlighted below, have advocated for freedom, women's advancement, human rights and other issues. The Indiana Commission for Women's Writing Her Story series features more women that have contributed to our state's history.

Polly Strong (1796-?)

Image of Polly Strong slavery case markerPolly Strong was born around 1796 to an enslaved 15-year-old named Jenny. She was purchased in 1806 by Hyacinth Lasselle in Vincennes, Knox County, Ind. In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory, which included Indiana. Polly Strong bid for freedom for herself and her brother James, but Judge John Johnson of the General Court of Indiana declared Polly and James were still enslaved. Indiana’s 1816 Constitution prohibited slavery or involuntary servitude.

In July 1818, Polly filed a freedom suit and Lasselle, was ordered to bring Polly and James to the Knox County Circuit Court. Judge Jonathan Doty ruled in Lasselle’s favor, meaning Polly and James were obligated to remain Lasselle’s property.

On July 22, 1820, the Indiana Supreme Court declared Polly a free woman. Strong stood up for herself and her freedom, using the Indiana judicial system to challenge her status as a slave, which was unheard of during that time. Polly Strong has a historical marker with her story in Corydon, which was installed in 2016.

You can read more about Polly Strong here.

Sallie Wyatt Stewart (1881-1951)

Image of Sallie Wyatt StewartSallie Stewart was a young teacher in Evansville’s elementary school for Black children in 1903, when the worst race riot in the city’s history left 12 of her neighbors dead and more than 25 wounded. The event profoundly affected her, propelling her into action to improve life in Evansville.

Stewart was one of the women who founded the Day Nursery Association for Colored Children in Evansville. The group raised $2,000 to put a down payment on a house where more than two dozen children could be cared for while their mothers worked. She also had a hand in the establishment of the Phyllis Wheatley Home, which opened in Terre Haute in 1922.

Stewart organized the Evansville Federation of Colored Women’s Club and led its effort in 1918 and 1919 to establish the first day care center for children of Black working mothers. She served as first secretary of the local NAACP chapter in 1915 and was a founder of Evansville’s first Inter-Racial Commission. She founded a boarding house and recreation center for young Black women. During World War II, she organized the local Colored Women’s War Work Community that sold bonds and stamps to help support the war. Sallie continued teaching for 50 years.

Her influence was felt on a national scale. Stewart was president of the Indiana Federation of Colored Women from 1921 to 1928, then president of the 200,000-member National Association of Colored Women, leading efforts to raise the standards of living for Black women and their families. She founded the National Association of Colored Girls in 1930, the same year she served as a delegate to the International Council of Women in Vienna, Austria, and was the first African-American to be elected president of the National Council of Women in the United States. She also was a founder and first secretary of the Frederick Douglass Memorial and Historical Association.

Eva Mozes Kor (1934-2019)

Image of Eva KorEva was born to Alexander and Jaffa Mozes in the village of Portz, Romania along with her twin sister Miriam. They were farmers and the only Jewish family in the village. When Eva and Miriam were 6 years old, the Nazis invaded their village. In 1944, Eva, Miriam, their parents and two older sisters Edit and Aliz were transported to the Auschwitz death camp. Eva and Miriam became part of a group of children used for genetic experiments under Dr. Josef Mengele. There were approximately 1,500 sets of twins who were abused and died as a result of these experiments. When Eva and Miriam survived the death camp and were liberated on January 27, 1945, they discovered they were the only survivors in their family.

Eva and Miriam returned to Romania and lived with her aunt before immigrating to Israel in 1950. Eva married a fellow Holocaust survivor, Michael Kor, and moved to Indiana in 1960. Eva wanted to know what happened to other survivors of Dr. Mengele’s experiments and began locating them with Miriam’s help. In 1984, Eva founded CANDLES- Children of Auschwitz Nazi Deadly Lab Experiments Survivors. As a result of Eva and Miriam’s work, CANDLES reconnected 122 twins living around the world. The CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center opened in 1995 in Terre Haute.

Eva is best known for her work with Indiana state legislators Clyde Kersey and Tim Skinner to pass a law requiring Holocaust education in schools. Eva also taught a course at Indiana State University on the value and philosophy of overcoming adversity in life using the Holocaust as an example. She is also known for the controversial decision to forgive the Nazis. This freed her from being a victim of the Holocaust, also giving her strength and healing. Forgiving the Nazis did not mean she would forget or that she dismissed the Holocaust but lifted a weight from her. Surviving the Holocaust taught Eva “to never, ever give up.” Eva passed away July 4, 2019, in Terre Haute, as an international champion of human rights, peace and the power of forgiveness.

Ways to celebrate

Ways to support

  • Educate yourself on some key women's employment terms
    • Wage Gap- an undesirable or unfair difference between the average amounts that two sectors of a population are paid
    • Glass Ceiling - an  unofficially acknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities
  • Promote and study women who made history using this toolkit
  • Support women-owned businesses
  • Support entertainment media created by women
  • Get involved with organizations and charities that support opportunities for women, like the Indiana Commission for Women and YWCA of Indiana

Additional resources for Women's History Month