Women's Civil Rights

Loray Mill Strike

Apr 1, 1929

One of the most outspoken union activists in North Carolina is killed during a labor dispute at the Loray Mill.

The First Woman in the Presidential Cabinet

1933

Perkins would have been famous simply by being the first woman cabinet member, but her legacy also stems from her additional accomplishments. She was largely responsible for the creation of social security, unemployment insurance in the United States, the federal minimum wage, and federal laws regulating child labor.

Mary McLeod Bethune

1935

Bethune organizes the National Council of Negro Women and takes the forefront of fighting job discrimination, racism, and sexism.

North Carolina Starts a Birth Control Program

1937

North Carolina started a birth control program as well as licensing midwives and funding a maternal and infant health program.

Creation of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps

May 15, 1942

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill that creates the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Women who join the corps perform a variety of non-combat tasks formerly done by male soldiers

Equal Pay for Equal Work Bill

1945

The bill is introduced to congress and doesn't go through with being passed until 1963 but is still an important and recognizable event.

Elreta Alexander

1947

Elreta Alexander became the first African American woman to be licensed as a lawyer in North Carolina.

First Time with an Equal Amount of Votes

1957

For the first time, there are an equal number of men and women that voting at the same time.