International Women's Day 2026: 'To Believe in Women' Talk Puts Sapphic and Feminist Histories at Center of Women's History Month
As International Women's Day 2026 approaches, attention turns to local programming and conversations that frame the month. A hybrid event titled "To Believe in Women: Women's History Month" will explore how feminist and sapphic movements expanded rights for all, and organizers underscore the continued relevance of that history to current debates about rights and recognition.
International Women's Day 2026: Event spotlight — "To Believe in Women"
The "To Believe in Women" talk is framed around the proposition that women, including lesbians (sapphic people), have been integral to the expansion of rights for all people in the United States. The event invites attendees to examine the role women have played and how women who loved other women were essential to the fight for rights throughout history and into the present.
What the "To Believe in Women" talk will cover
The program centers on the intersection of feminist and sapphic movements and aims to trace how activism and community across those movements broadened civil and social rights. The stated focus is on expansion of rights for all people in the United States and the essential contributions of women who loved other women to that expansion.
Speaker profile: Betsy Carswell and her credentials
Betsy Carswell will lead the talk. She serves as Board President of the Golden Crown Literary Society, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing the visibility of sapphic literature. Carswell grew up in a Navy family on the coasts of the United States, living in Virginia, Hawaii, California, South Carolina, Florida, and Maryland before finding home in Washington, DC.
Her professional background includes retirement from federal service in 2017 after a 32-year career in the Intelligence Community where she served as a cartographer, geospatial analyst, and senior manager. Her academic qualifications include a BA in geography and religion, an MS in pastoral counseling, post-graduate work in geospatial intelligence, and a graduate certificate in conflict resolution and negotiation. She lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC with Carol, her wife of 15 years.
Practical details: when, where and RSVP
The event is scheduled for Sunday March 1st at 12: 30PM and will be offered in a hybrid format: Zoom and in person at 269 4th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11215. Attendees who wish to join Zoom must RSVP to receive the link.
