3.4.2022 – Women’s History Month 2022 Spotlights

Friday, March 4, 2022

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate Women’s historical contributions while acknowledging and celebrating the impact Women have on empowerment and education today and into the future.

Women’s History Month began as Women’s History Week in 1981, when U.S. Representative (later Senator) Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah introduced a resolution to designate the week of March 8th as Women’s History Week. Six years later, the United States Senate declared the month of March as Women’s History Month.
In past years, we have recognized trailblazing Women who have contributed to our society through their work in government, labor organizing, and military service to our country. This year, we will spotlight Flight Attendants who work to improve lives and strengthen the communities in which they reside.

Spotlight: Tamara Carter (DCA)

For many years, DCA Flight Attendant Tamara Carter has used the power of activism to draw attention to the violence that plagues our Indigenous communities.

Tamara writes, “I’ve been involved in social justice pursuits for Indigenous people and women for decades, including winning the top award at George Mason University for social justice & action and academic excellence—the Vision Award. My activism includes bringing attention to the tragedy of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIW). Native women are murdered and sexually assaulted at 10x the national average of other ethnicities. Four out of five Indigenous women have experienced violence. Murder is the third leading cause of death. In 2016, there were 5,712 incidents, however, only 116 were logged into the U.S. Department of Justice’s database. Even further, 95% of cases were not covered by the national or international media. This is a national crisis!”

Left photo: Mary Phillips (Omaha and Laguna Pueblo) and Tamara Carter delivering “change the name” petitions to the headquarters of the Washington Football Team.
Right photo: Dennis Banks (Ojibwe) interviewing Tamara Carter at a march on Washington—”The Longest Walk”—bringing attention to various Native issues, including MMIW. 
Tamara continues, “The root causes of the MMIW injustice include colonization, historical trauma, racism, dehumanization, and sexual objectification of Indigenous women and girls. Therefore, I continue my lobby efforts to abolish the use of stereotypical and dehumanizing sports monikers and mascots. Dehumanization and mockery encourage conscious and unconscious harming of women and girls, as they are often not even considered human beings. In addition, the portrayal of Native women—scantly clad and submissive—in advertising, film, and TV creates a dangerous false perception and causes harm. As does dressing up as a sexualized “Indian” at Halloween. I will continue to speak out until all remaining teams rebrand, and sexual stereotypes and the sale of these costumes cease.”

Spotlight: Kimberly Graham (Formerly ORD)

Kimberly Graham is a former APFA member. Graham, a single mom, flew for 12 years while completing law school. Upon passing the bar exam, she retired from flying. Kimberly ran for the US Senate in 2020 in Iowa, and APFA endorsed her election campaign. Unfortunately, she did not prevail. Kimberly is once again running for election, this time for Polk County Attorney in Iowa.

L to R: APFA Government Affairs Representative Allie Malis and Kimberly Graham; Kimberly Graham on the campaign trail.

While only 37 APFA members currently live in Iowa, her campaign platform embodies many shared values with APFA, including addressing racial and LGBTQ+ disparities, the way mental health and addiction issues are treated, and prosecuting wage theft. She is passionate about criminal justice reform and through the position of County Attorney, she would have unilateral power to set the tone for what criminal and juvenile justice looks like in her jurisdiction.

We are grateful for the work that Tamara and Kimberly do to for their communities, and we thank them for sharing their stories.

Upcoming events celebrating Women’s role in history may be found on the Women’s History Month website, as well as the website for the National Women’s History Museum.

In Solidarity,

Paul Hartshorn, Jr.
APFA Communications
[email protected]