Important Women Through History

Why have I not heard about the many women who have made brilliant contributions to this world? I have heard about mis-education of African Americans, but I am wondering if I haven't also been a victim. Oh, I hate using that word. A\Aren't we all victims? This is really blowing my mind. As I go through my brain and recall the pictures of important people that I have learned about, it is not a mix of genders at all! I see men's faces; all the men who have signed the constitution, the men who helped free the slaves, but there is Harriet Tubman who I see. I recall the men who served during the wars, and I see all the male presidents. This is a bit infuriating that I cannot see certain female faces as clearly as I see these male faces. I never thought of myself as a feminist, and I don't really remember anyone in my family being one. Of course , I was from Texas, so that is a good reason. My grandmother may be the closest to a feminist that I know. About ten years ago she started signing her name with only her maiden name. She continues to send me things and signs her name Wilmuth Mavanee Box Johnson. She used to tell me great stories about her mom taking care of the family during the depression without a husband around. I don't recall why the husband wasn't around, I just remember that my great-grandmother had to do a lot of tending to things on her own while she was very ill. I wish I could remember more about what my grandmother taught me. She has been through so much herself. I haven't lived at all when I think about all the contributions that other women have made in their lives. Someone told me recently, "You have to do something different, and something nobody else has done." The conversation came out of me saying I don't hear much about people studying much about kids with disabilities and learning math. (This is not true as there are many people who have covered this topic thoroughly.) The point is this: I must do something different to be recognized like these women who had to do something totally extraordinary to become a special "female" member of recognized people. And the sad part is this: I don't recognize half of this list of people. What does this say about my education? What does this say about what people in America are teaching their kids about women and their contributions? It makes me really sad. Maybe this is why I have been so depressed lately. I have missed some things life because I was worried about my social life, or whatever I was concerned about back then. I wanted to reflect...