In March 2019, I was invited to present at the James K Polk Historic Site as a part of North Carolina’s Year of the Woman series, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the ratification 19th amendment.  I focused on how women throughout history have leveraged the domestic space as a catalyst for power and cultural change. The lecture programs at the Birthplace throughout the year are part of the North Carolina Department of Cultural and Natural Resources campaign called, “She Changed the World: NC Women Breaking Barriers.” The year-long campaign celebrates the 100th anniversary of the ratification 19th amendment, which gave women the right to vote in 1920.

I was excited to talk with a room of 23 participants about strong women in our history who have risen to the challenge of making their world a better place through a means they know best — the domestic space. From Amelia Simmons’ publication of the first American cookbook in 1796 to newcomer Julia Turshen who writes and advocates for community members who use food to become agents of change in social activism, we only scratched the surface on the good work women have done through the centuries “in whose hands rest the real destinies of the Republic.”