April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and we want to join the celebration and tip our hats to this uniquely American art form. Born out of the South in the early 20th century, jazz has infused the musical scene with a rhythm and sound like no other. Presidents throughout the past century have been fans, including Reagan, Carter, and Clinton.
This month marks 29 years since Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor became the first woman to preside over the court, temporarily sitting in for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Fourteen years earlier, O’Connor had become the first woman to sit on the Supreme Court, ultimately paving the way for Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. From Sandra Day O’Connor to Sally Ride to Kamala Harris, our history holds countless moments when women broke through barriers and into arenas that had previously been exclusively occupied by men. In this week’s Archives Experience, we spotlight a few trailblazing women from America’s history.
