June 30 - N.O.W. Day

Founded in 1966, the National Organization for Women is the largest organization of feminist activities in the United States, with more then 500 000 contributing members and more than 500 local campus affiliates in all 50 states, and the District of Columbia.

N.O.W. was founded on June 30th, 1996 by 28 women and men attending the Third National Conference of State Commissions on the Status of Women, successor to the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. The founders included Betty Friedan, author of The Feminine Mystique, NOW's first president; Rev. Pauli Murray, the first African-American female Episcopal priest; and Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman to run for US President.

 

NOW's Statement of Purpose was created by Friedan and Murray, scribbled on a napkin in 1966. The statement reads, "To take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men."

NOW stands against all oppression, recognizing that racism, sexism, and homophobia are interrelated, intended to keep power and privilege concentrated in the hands of a few.

Today we celebrate the anniversary of NOW's founding, along with their continued quest for true equality.

Today is also Descendants Day, Leap Second Time Adjustment Day, and Log Cabin Day!

Here are some interesting things that happened on this day in history:

- King Henry II of France was seriously injured in a jousting match against Gabriel de Montgomery in 1559.
- The 1860 Oxford evolution debate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History took place in 1860.
- A giant fireball - most likely caused by the air burst of a large meteoroid or comet - impacted in Siberia in 1908.
- A tornado struck the heart of Regina in 1912, killing 28 persons and causing millions in damages.

- "Gone With the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell, was published in 1936.
- Singer Murray McLauchlan, whose "Farmer's Song" established him across Canada as a popular singer with both folk and country audiences, was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1948.
- A car bomb, intended for Mafia boss Salvatore Greco, killed seven police and military officers near Palermo in 1963.
- MPs voted 148-127 not to reinstate the death penalty in 1976.
- Marvel Comics published "Kiss book", a tribute to rock group Kiss, in 1977.
- Liberal leader John Turner was sworn in as Canada’s 17th Prime Minister in 1984.

- The Royal Canadian Mint ceased production of dollar banknotes in 1989, two years after the introduction of the "loonie".
- Caroline Frolic - formerly Miss Ontario - was crowned Miss Renaissance USA in 1996.
- In 1997, an Angus Reid poll found that the average Canadian student knew the answer to only 10 of 30 questions about Canada, and only 30% could identify John A. Macdonald as Canada's first Prime Minister.
- Canada and the US signed a treaty in 1999, governing the conservation and sharing of Pacific salmon, which migrate between waters of the two nations.

- Also in 1999, thirteen-year-old Tyrell Duek died of bone cancer. His refusal to be treated by doctors for bone cancer, because of his family's belief in faith healing, caused a national debate.
- Approximately 1500 Duplessis Orphans received an apology and a “fault-free” offer of compensation in 2001. Each received a lump sum payment of $10 000 and an additional $1000 for each year spent in an asylum, roughly $25 000 per person.
- Spain legalized same-sex marriage in 2005.
- Mohamed Morsi was sworn in as President of Egypt in 2012.

Stay tuned for our next, "On This Day in History"!