Women’s History Month with Special Collections

From reproductive justice to global human rights movements, Women’s History Month offerings in Special Collections cover expansive ground across political, academic, and historical spheres.

Black Reproductive Justice HERStory Walk Exhibit

Neilson Library third floor
On display through March 2026

Created in celebration of the 10th anniversary of In Our Own Voice: Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, the traveling Black Reproductive Justice HERStory Walk Exhibit showcases the history, stories and continuing impact of the Black reproductive justice movement, including Smith College Professor Loretta J. Ross. The exhibit is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by Smith College Special Collections, Africana Studies, History, Jandon Center for Community Engagement, Office of Equity and Inclusion, and the Program for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality. Supported by Human Rights Initiatives at Smith.

Contact: Carrie Cuthbert, Human Rights Leadership Specialist: ccuthbert@smith.edu   

The Path to Reproductive Justice: National and Global Movements 1970s-present

Neilson Library third floor
On display through March 2026

Created by STRIDE scholar Olivia Manchand ’28, this display of archival materials from the Sophia Smith Collection of women’s history will be featured alongside and in dialogue with the HERStory Walk Exhibit, tracing the evolution of the global movement for women’s human rights and reproductive justice from the 1970s to the present.

Contact: specialcollections@smith.edu 

Linda Janet Holmes Oral Histories of African-American Midwives Collection: an Opening Celebration

March 26, 2026
Neilson Browsing Room and on Zoom
6-7:30 p.m.
Click here to register

The Sophia Smith Collection of women's history at Smith College is thrilled to celebrate the opening of 46 oral history interviews Linda Holmes conducted with Black midwives across Alabama in 1981. The collection provides unprecedented access to the experiences of Black Alabama midwives who cultivated diverse birthing practices handed down from African foremothers and ancestral midwives who were enslaved.  

The event will be moderated by Sophia Smith Collection Archivist Mariana Brandman and will include a panel discussion with the following panelists:

• Linda Holmes, M.P.A.
  Author, Independent Scholar, Midwife Advocate, Culture Worker
• Byllye Avery, M.Ed.
  Founder, Black Women's Health Imperative
• Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MPH, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM
  Chief Clinical Officer, CHOICES Center for Reproductive Health
  Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF School of Nursing

Contact: Mariana Brandman, Sophia Smith Collection Archivist: mbrandman@smith.edu