by 
To the courageous allies and members of the Latinx community,
Originally, Women’s History Week started as part of a social activist movement in Sonoma County, California in 1978 (National Women’s History Museum, n.d.). March was nationally established to be Women’s History Month in 1987 to honor and remember those women of history that may be frequently overlooked due to the universal truth that the human experience is weighted heavily in favor of men. This year, the National Women’s History Month theme is “Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future” (National Women’s History Alliance, 2026).
March 8th is known as National Women’s Day, which is meant specifically to promote activism towards gender equality and support for pro-feminist organizations. “The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history” (Women’s History Month, 2025).
At the Latinx Institute, we strive to increase access to educational resources for our community. In honor of National Women’s History Month, we invite you to visit Latinas Talk Latinas to learn about prominent Latin American women of history from Latin American women of today. Latinas Talk Latinas is a video series that features a notable latina woman of history in each episode (Smithsonian Institution, 2020).
This video series is an excellent resource for people to learn about the less famous, but not less impactful, female heroes of the Americas. Until recently, history has been taught within the confines of numerous systemic marginalizations including societal constructs of sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia, etc. Latinas Talk Latinas is partnered with the Smithsonian which provides additional digital resources about figures included in their collections.
Latinx Institute 2026 Women’s History Month Spotlighter : Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez!
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) was bornon October 13th, 1989 in the Bronx, New York (Ocasio-Cortez, 2026). Her mother is initially from Puerto Rico, having moved to the Bronx, New York after being a domestic worker for most of her childhood. AOC’s father is a second-generation New York native, and he is also ethnically Puerto Rican. Her family’s culture and her exposure to the minority experience in the United States, AOC has solidified values that characterize her as a politician.
She graduated from Boston University with a double major in Economics and International Relations (Cannon, 2022). From there, AOC acquired an internship position for a Massachusetts senator’s office. She was uniquely exposed to the effects of immigration enforcement when communicating directly with families facing deportation and potential separation from their partners, children, parents. AOC continued to support her own family and pay for her education by working in the service industry (Ocasio-Cortez, n.d.). After returning to New York, AOC held a position as the Educational Director for the National Hispanic Institute. Her first campaign job was being a Community Organizer for Bernie Sanders’ for the 2016 presidential election. Inspired by a South Dakota Indigenous community, AOC helped oppose the installation of a pipeline on Native land and dedicated her life to public service.
Today, AOC is representing New York’s 14th District in the United States House of Representatives. “She is most well known for her progressive politics, community activism, and her wide-reaching social media presence” (Cannon, 2022). Since 2019, AOC is the youngest woman, and consequently the youngest Latina, to serve in the United States Congress. She is known for her work legislating the Green New Deal resolution, among many other restorative efforts. Her passion to protect the targeted and be a voice to those who have been silenced carries throughout the evolution of her career. AOC has proven herself to be a high example of female leadership by way of her sound ethics, clear communication, and tenacious advocacy of minority groups.
In Solidarity of National Women’s History Month,
The Latinx Institute Team
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- Planned Parenthood
- National Resource Center on Domestic Violence
- Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
- Women’s Housing Coalition
- National Women’s Center Network
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1+(800)-799-7233
- National Resource Center on Domestic Violence: 1+(717)-461-3939
- WomanKind (NYC): 1+(888)-888-7702
- Women’s Housing Coalition: 1+(410)-235-5782
- National Women’s Center Network: 1+(833)-843-6976
References:
Cannon, J. D. (2022). Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. National Women’s History Museum.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/alexandria-ocasio-corte
National Women’s History Alliance. (2026). Women’s history theme.
National Women’s History Museum. (n.d.). Women’s history month.
https://www.womenshistory.org/womens-history/womens-history-month
Ocasio-Cortez, A. (2022). About. U.S. House of Representatives.
https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/about
Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History. (2020, October 1). Latinas talk
Latinas.
https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/explore/topics/latino-history/latinas-talk-latinas
Women’s History Month. (2025). Women’s History Month. U.S. Government.
