March_Toward_Freedom_in_the_History_of

Speech Presented by Diane Howard, Ph.D.
Accompanied with a Dramatic Presentation of the Life of Harriet Tubman,
When Freedom Comes by Dee Hughes

Copyright © 2005

It is a privilege to be with you today, to honor your contributions in providing freedom for people around the world, and to consider with you how we can continue to march forward toward advancing the productivity of half the people of the globe, that is the women. It is truly a joy for me to be with you, as most of my life I have been involved with the U. S. Army as a military wife, military dependent, or as a university professor of military personnel and their family members. My husband, Dr. David Howard, served the U. S. Army for 20 years. His last assignment before he retired was here at Ft. Hood as the Family Life Chaplain.Since his military retirement, he has continued to serve U.S Army personnel as a marriage and family therapist at the Community Counseling Center in Belton, TX.

As well as serving the military throughout the world with my husband, I supported my father, Col. Herbert S. Lowe, with his military missions around the world as a U. S. Army Officer.He began his career under General Patton in WWII. He was a U.S. Army Liaison Officer to Chiang Kai-shek before the Communist Revolution. In Korea he served under General McArthur, and in Viet Nam under General Westmoreland. I have seen first-hand, researched, and studied the growing hope and progress in history for women as a military dependent, military spouse, and as a university professor.

My doctoral research involved the importance of female role models in Women's History in their encouragement of future generations of female leaders. Part of this research involved studying what happened to the women at our university when it was a female-only college during WWII. I received many fascinating accounts of Mary Hardin-Baylor students, alumni, and faculty experiences through my interviews and compiling or oral histories. One such story was of Dr. Allena Pace, who graduated from Mary Hardin-Baylor College in 1939. Dr. Pace accepted a proposal of marriage from a reserved military officer. Her military finance was called in to see the base commander, to answer by endorsement, why he, an officer in the United States

Army, would allow his wife to work, as a teacher. After being married in 1941, Allena's military husband was killed in a battle in France in 1944.. She served at a junior college as she worked on her master's degree and then her doctorate. She taught wives of veterans who were returning to college and she pioneered adult education.

       Dr. Mildred Fussel enlisted in the WACS. She was one of thirty-six girls who were chosen to work on cryptoquote. Berneeta Peeples, a Belton, TX archivist, who told me the story, said

         … It was a code. They sent code messages. There were thirty-six of them. They lived in separate
         barracks. They never saw anybody but these thirty six. They were transported in armored trucks from
         their barracks… Strange little messages about Project Mnahattan were going. About four o'clock
         one morning she realized that somebody was breathing down her neck. She got through sending that
         message. She slammed her chair back on somebody's toes. And Harry Truman was standing there.

I heard many remarkable stories about educated women who were able during WWII to enter traditionally male dominated fields such as higher education, math, science, economics, and journalism. New doors of opportunity were opened for women in fields formerly dominated by men, when the men were siphoned off to the WWII battle fields. Necessity was the mother of invention. However, after the war there was a general effort to encourage women to step away from professional life back into the private arena of the home, so that men home from war could reclaim their dominance in public life.

In the past century and in the beginning of this present one, progress has been made in challenging gender
discrimination and in securing equal rights for women. But sometimes there have been steps forward and then back again concerning equal professional opportunities for in public life. There have been laws, treaties, charters, and conventions established around the world that have affirmed the equal and inalienable rights of human beings, irrespective of gender. Gender-specific protections have advanced the inherent dignity of women and have equalized their standing with men before the law. As women have been protected and freed to enter public life, societies have been enriched by their contributions and productivity. Even closed societies like

China

have made significant efforts to move women into the mainstream of society, to relieve poverty among them, to protect their human rights, and to increase their educational opportunities. These developments and advancements have contributed to economic and social growth and progress in

China

.

The

U. S.

Army has fought valiantly and sacrificially throughout the world in the last century and the present one to advance freedom for marginalized, subjugated, intimated, and terrorized people, including women. Thanks to their efforts, women are now being educated in

Afghanistan

and are participating in the political process.

Afghanistan

now has its first female provincial governor. This is a big step forward in the political progress of women in that country. Afghan women have become role models for other suppressed women throughout the world. They have demonstrated the importance and value of their being educated and allowed to participate in public life. The

U. S.

Army has advanced the march toward freedom and equal rights throughout the world in the past century and in the present one. Today we have a Secretary of State, Dr. Condelessa Rice, who as a professional role model demonstrates the validity and effectiveness of educated, female leadership.

However, we can not take these advancements toward equal rights, equal opportunities, and therefore greater general productivity for granted. We have continued to take steps forward; but we have also taken steps backward again throughout history. Women continue to face unfair practices and policies in public life, which only ends up hurting general economic and social progress. Women, simply because they are women, throughout the world and in our country commonly continue to experience unfair, humiliating, and debilitating public and private practices. Discrimination still exists when women are paid less than men for the same or comparable work, when they are denied advancement or promotions, when they are shut out of administrative positions, and when they are subjected to various forms of sexual harassment. Discrimination exists against women when they are denied equal rights and opportunities simply because they are women. In many fields this discrimination is not necessarily open and obvious, but it frequently exists in subtle and passive aggressive forms.

Progress has been made toward greater hope and possibilities for women throughout the world and in our country; but women are still generally marginalized in the visceral world. Interestingly, my personal hope for greater possibilities for women is related to my research and work with the virtual world or Cyberspace. It is in the virtual world that women now have a new dimension where they can be more maximally productive. They can participate equally in the virtual world that has less limitations, disenfranchisement, and marginalization. Cyberspace provided by the Internet has offered more freedom, hope, opportunities, and possibilities for women and all marginalized people, as it provides a more equal playing field than what is often experienced in the visceral world. In the virtual world opportunities are seldom limited on the basis of gender or ethnicity. The virtual world can provide a vision for a more equalized visceral one.

We have seen Dee Hughes perform today the story of Harriet Tubman. She portrayed Harriet's joy in tasting freedom and Harriet's determination to provide freedom for enslaved people. We should thank God for the perseverance of great women like Harriet Tubman and many others, have sacrificially contributed to the greater good of us all. I have often written and spoken on women's issues and performed stories of leading and pioneering women. This history is rich with the contributions women whose service has benefited people throughout world for posterity. I think Women's History Month gives us an opportunity to remind the general public of the great social contributions of women that have served societies at large. However, we still have a way to go for women to be appropriately respected, appreciated, and valued.

Women are still generally marginalized around the globe. This is a tragedy, as it hurts the world when women are limited is what they can accomplish, contribute, and produce, simply because they are women. Equal rights and equal opportunities for all produce greater benefits and welfare for all. Fredrick Douglass said, "Right is of no sex - Truth is of no color - God is the Father of us all, and we are all Brethren."