Alondra Flores: For me, my favorite class is history, mainly because of the books. I was wondering, as a Social Science teacher, at what time in your life do you think you started having a passion for women’s history?

Molly Murphy MacGregor: It’s a long story. I’ll try to make it as short as possible. I had no aspirations to go to college. I am the youngest of nine children, and I grew up thinking that every woman had nine children. My oldest sister, who was 25 years older than me, had ten children, my brother had eight children, and everyone seemed very happy and content. I thought that’s what people did with their lives. I went to Catholic school and was very successful. Then I went to public school and discovered school could be fun. To say that I wasted my high school years is an understatement. I wasn’t an academic student anymore; I was only interested in getting through school, and having as much fun as possible. I grew up in a small almost exclusively white community, my only social consciousness came from the Catholic Church, which taught me that we were all God’s children and we were responsible for one another. What I could do about it was a whole other question.

After high school, I worked at the Bank of America instead of going to college. I took a banking class in hopes of making my job less boring. On the way home from class, one of my male colleagues who was hired the same day and did the same work asked me how I lived on the amount of money we made per month. When he told me how much money he was making, I realized he was making 25% more than I was, doing the same work. I thought there was a mistake. The next day I was eager to tell the bank manager about the error that had been made. The dollar signs were dancing in my head! I didn’t want to make this job my career, but I definitely wanted the money. Clearly, I was beyond naive; I didn’t know words like sexism, condescension, or patriarchy. But I knew the importance of justice and fairness..

When I told the manager about the mistake, he said, “Oh no, that’s not a mistake, he’s on a training program. When I suggested that he put me on a training program, he walked me over to one of the big brown bankers’ desks and said, “Molly, do you think people want to walk into a bank and see women in positions of authority?” I was aghast! I looked at this man, this very foolish man, and I thought of my mother and all the nuns I knew in school. Clearly this man knew nothing about authority. My awareness of his sexism and paternalism all merged in one gigantic boom. I quit my job and returned to school.  I used my community college education to make amends for what I hadn’t done in high school.

For someone as naive as I was, school was a remarkable experience. Reading and learning about the world and the people who made history, challenged everything that I believed. The more I read, the more frustrated I became. I was changing my mind, and I didn’t want to change my mind. I was comfortable with my ideas. I realized I had a lot of things to unlearn. History gave me that tool.

My education was so important to me that I decided to teach. My goal was to encourage students to think for themselves. I wanted them to have reasons for their beliefs.  My teaching career began at a time when our country was fighting the Vietnam War. It was a very difficult time to be teaching because it was such a difficult time in our country’s history. 

I always believed that I was teaching my students a complex and expanded view of history. Then one day a young man asked me, what is the women’s movement?” The year was 1972. Shirley Chisholm was running for President of the United States! Barbara Jordan was elected as the first Black person to be elected to Congress from Texas since the Civil War! 1972 was the year Title IX was first drafted and it was the year Ms. Magazine was published.

I was a young, second year teacher trying to survive in the classroom and trying to make my classes engaging and relevant.  This young man’s question totally changed my life. I couldn’t admit at the time, being a very young teacher, that I didn’t know the answer.  So instead I paused and looked at this young man, and I said to him, “What a good question, let’s divide into groups.”  Each group considered the Women’s Movement from a different perspective. They developed questions from the perspective of the government, from the family, from religions ideas and even from a historic perspective.. 

Thank God it was a Friday. I went home to research my history books. Only one book and only  one chapter contained any information about women.  The chapter was on the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848. I had outlined the chapter in yellow. I know I received an A on my test because I received straight A’s in history. 

I was stunned. I had never realized that it was because of the work of women of previous generations, that I was teaching high school. I had never even recognized or thanked them.  That was the crushing moment when I realized that I had never thanked my mother for all her work and for all she had done for me. Thanking her was no longer possible, since she was dead. But, for me, this new recognition of women became my North Star. I wanted to ensure that people had a comprehensive understanding of what history is and that women have always been the fabric of every society. That was 1972, and this is now 2025, and I have spent my life learning, appreciating, and hopefully giving back with great gratitude to the women and men who created our history. 

My knowledge of history was not only limited to women’s history, I knew very little about people of color. I am white. I’m embarrassed to tell you that when people have privilege, most often, they don’t even know the privilege they have. Since that date in 1972, I have been educating myself and working to recognize and honor the extraordinary history that has come before me. I’m also doing my best to encourage you and young people like you to pick up the banner and carry it forward.

I firmly believe that “Our History is Our Strength”.  When that history is denied, distorted and erased, the outcome is fear, hate, and even repulsion.  The denial of our history is a great loss to all of humanity.  It keeps us separated and fearful of each other. 

Flores: Now that you said our history is our strength, how do you feel about the current threat of censorship and some people not wanting to discuss women’s history? What do you think about the current attitude toward women’s history?

 MacGregor:  I am concerned that all of our democratic values are being challenged by evil distortions. We cannot let that happen. We need to talk to each other. We need to ask each other questions, and we need to listen. People are lied to on a daily basis. They are afraid and uninformed. We need to ask them why they find diversity, equity and inclusion as being negative to our country and to ourselves and then we need to listen to be able to have real conversations. It is a very tough time right now. We also need to be kinder to each other. 

We also need to ensure that our history is being saved.  We have the capacity to do so with technology and other archival tools.  And once we win, we will restore our institutions, our monuments and the history that represents  democratic values and principles that have made us the country we are. 

The mobilization of young people like you is key to our future.  

Flores: Have you ever had any significant moments when people told you that you couldn’t do something, and what got you through? 

MacGregor: I had a lot of moments of people telling me I shouldn’t do something. Sometimes they were right. Luckily, my parents imbued me with self-confidence, and a sense of right and wrong.

I was always considered the All-American girl. So, probably the most challenging issue of my life was coming out as a lesbian. It was a well-kept secret that few knew because it would have completely diminished the success of the National Women’s History Alliance. Everyone assumed I was straight. No one asked and I didn’t tell. My promotion of women’s history had nothing to do with me being gay, but at the time few would have understood that.  

People always praised me for being so forthcoming in challenging patriarchy and all of its poisonous aspects, but I am certain that my voice would have been heard differently if people knew that I was gay.

I am so appreciative of the Millennials and the generations that have followed for their courage and boldness in saying who they are.  Still, I am certain that if I had not stayed in the closet, the National Women’s History Project would have been dismissed as a lesbian organization.

Flores: I really like how you said this is how we change. You said that everyone was surprised when you came out because everyone thought you were an all-American girl. How did you deal with your faith initially since you were Catholic? I know for some people they keep their feminism and faith separate, while others see a connection between the two. I’m wondering how you dealt with feminism and faith?

MacGregor: Feminism and my faith were never in conflict. Once I realized that the Bible for me is a historic reference rather than the word of God, I was free to follow my father’s advice.“Molly, as long as you always treat people the way you want to be treated, you don’t need to worry.” So I have no division between my feminism and my faith. My belief is that God is everywhere, including within us.

Justice and equality are God’s attributes, and those are the attributes of feminism. The most significant challenge to my faith was the study of history because it forced me to constantly reevaluate my feelings. I’m a tree hugger, there’s no doubt about it. I feel that we’re all spirits.

Flores: When you went to college after quitting the bank you talked about wanting to be a good teacher to encouraged students to think. Did you ever think you would create women’s history week and then women’s history month?

MacGregor: It took me a long time to understand how to challenge patriarchy.  Remember patriarchy was a word I didn’t even know until I was in my late teens.  What I did realize was that history was the key. Learning and teaching women’s history challenges every sexist idea that permeates our society and our educational system. 

I left teaching to attend graduate school. It was while I was in graduate school that I realized that most teachers knew very little about women’s history.  Putting a Women’s History Week on the school calendar could help encourage teachers to learn and teach about women. I was on an Education Task Force on the Sonoma County Commission on Women and we worked with the schools to promote very successful women’s history weeks.

I took the idea for Women’s History Week to a national conference in 1979 and that’s when the national movement began. In 1980 President Carter issued the first Women’s History Week Message. That same year, we founded the National Women’s History Project (NWHP) to provide women’s history resources to the schools. By 1987, we had successful lobbied Congress to declare March as National Women’s History Month. In 2018, the NWHP expanded to become the National Women’s History Alliance to continue to promote women’s history and to help enable and expand the work of other women’s history organizations.  

Flores: Today, in the media and when you talk to people about feminism, it’s sort of demonized. People think you can’t be a feminist if you want to get married and raise kids. What do you think about how feminism is demonized today?

MacGregor:  Feminism is demonized for the same reason that words like “diversity, equality, and inclusion” are being demonized.  It is a strategy to keep people divided.  People in power want people to be afraid and not be able to work together.  Each time we encounter this kind of demonization is an opportunity to challenge it. We must encourage people to share their feelings and concerns.  We can’t counter lies and distortions unless we know why people believe them.

I am amazed that this conversation has been reignited by the right wing.  Clearly they know nothing of the history of feminist women and men who have worked for justice and equality. It is our responsibility to tell those stories. 

Serene Williams: Did you work with Gerda Lerner? 

MacGregor: Yes! There was a Women’s History Institute in 1979 and it was sponsored by the Women’s Action Alliance with a grant from the Lilly Foundation.  The goal was to bring together women’s scholars from throughout the country, including Girl Scouts, AAUW, and academics from the Smithsonian. Gerda Lerner chaired this 19-day conference. I was invited to attend because I had sent the Women’s History Week materials we had produced, which included the curriculum guide, posters and other promotional materials. My goal in attending was to ask the participants to embrace the idea of a National Women’s History Week. Gerda writes in one of her books that she never thought it would be possible, which is one of the few times she was wrong. That was the summer of 1979, and by the next February, I received a call from President Carter’s office, from Sarah Weddington, telling me that President Carter was going to proclaim the week of March 8th to be recognized as National Women’s History Week. We chose March 8 because it was International Women’s Day. We wanted to discuss women from all cultures and make it an international connection on. We also wanted to celebrate women who work inside and outside of the home.

Gerda not only put her name behind the work of the National Women’s History Project, she also added the names of notable historians to the NWHP Advisory board.  Many times throughout the years, I would be in touch with Gerda because I would do keynotes and panels. Gerda was always the first voice that spoke up and said, “ok, all you academics, you just heard Molly MacGregor, and it is the work of the National Women’s History Project that promotes an interest in women’s history in the schools, communities, and workplace throughout the country. Gerda was always a fantastic supporter. 

Williams: I have read it, Fireweed, it’s great.

MacGregor: I went to the celebration of Gerda’s life which was held in Wisconsin. When I came home from the memorial, I received an email from the Gerda Lerner Memorial. I thought, it was a request for a donation, but when I opened the email it was telling us that we had been designated in Gerda’s  will. The great irony was that at this point, we still had a debt of $48,000. And Gerda’s bequest to us was $48,000! 

If someone wrote a book about it, it would be unbelievable! These are the types of extraordinary things and moments that we have been graced with and which have enabled us to move forward. Thanks for joining our team. 

Williams: That’s an incredible story! Thank you for sharing it. Thank you for your candor and your time and hopefully we can do a part two! We really appreciate your time and all that you shared. 

MacGregor: Thank you for asking me!