READING | No Place for a Woman: The Struggle for Suffrage in the Wild West by Chris Enss: We wanted to honor the women of the American West this month for several reasons:
July is National Park and Recreation Month, and California, Alaska, Utah, and Colorado are the 4 states with the most national parks.
We recently passed a key date in women's suffrage! On July 10, 1890, Wyoming was admitted as the 44th state and so became the first state to guarantee women's suffrage in its constitution.
And a bonus fact: On June 11, 1880, Jeannette Rankin was born; she would later become the first woman to hold federal office in the United States when she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1916 from Montana.
WATCHING | Barbie, starring Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, and America Ferrera: It's a strong month for new Hollywood releases, with Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Oppenheimer, but we especially loved following Margot Robbie's Barbie's journey from Barbieland to the Real World.
The movie manages to be fun while highlighting the problems with gendered stereotypes and expectations — and we appreciated its argument that Barbie is a feminist toy that helps young girls better envision all the different opportunities and paths available to them. Learn more.
LISTENING TO | Speak Now (Taylor's Version): When the superstar dropped her Speak Now recording on July 7, it broke Spotify records for the most single-day streams in 2023 — and for a country album, ever. She recently became the first woman to have 4 albums on Billboard's Top 10 at once. And not only is her Eras tour boosting the local economy for each city she plays, it's also boosting the U.S. economy at large. So drop everything now, meet us on the trail for your campaign! Learn more.
EXCITED FOR | The 2nd Cohort of WPLN's Nonprofit Management Fellowship: We're excited for the kick-off of our 2nd Cohort of our Nonprofit Management Fellowship next month. Stay tuned for our announcement!