Is Today International Women’s Day? Chicago Rally, Bus Tour and Community Events

Riley Calderon

Published: March 7, 2026 9:54 PM ET

is today international women’s day — Chicago will observe the date with a city rally and march, a limited-run historical bus tour that spotlights local trailblazers, and community programming that continues into the week. The coordinated activities tie the holiday into Women’s History Month and a new public-history initiative that installs a mural and offers guided stops across the city.

Is Today International Women’s Day

The city’s Rally & March for International Women’s Day is set to begin at 10: 30am ET at Daley Plaza, with a rally, speakers and a march to Trump Tower planned for the same day. Organizers have promoted on-the-ground actions as a way to honor the holiday and connect public demonstrations with broader monthlong recognition.

Bus tour highlights women’s stories

Urban historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas has partnered with a consumer genomics company to present the “Women Who Built Chicago” bus tour for a limited run in March as part of Women’s History Month. The tour combines historical records with physical locations to spotlight nine Chicago women who advanced education, civil rights, the arts and health care. Featured figures include singer Dinah Washington, DuSable Museum co-founder Margaret Burroughs, and entrepreneur and activist Madame C. J. Walker.

The bus tour includes five stops and meets at Chicago Women’s Park & Garden, 1801 S. Indiana Ave. It will be open to the public on three dates in March: the 21st, the 22nd and the 28th. As part of the project, a new mural was installed at 38 W. Grand Ave. that spotlights Mary Emerson Haven and physician Margaret Hie Ding Lin, who served Chicago’s Chinese community at a time of widespread discrimination.

Rally, march and community engagement

The march on the holiday opens a sequence of local activities tied to the month. The day of action is followed the next day by a free community engagement meeting hosted by Global Peacefest at Hyde Park Academy High School from 5: 30-8: 30pm ET, featuring guest speakers, blood pressure screening, wellness resources, performances and giveaways. Organizers framed these events as opportunities to support and showcase women throughout neighborhoods while offering practical services.

Key takeaways: a city rally and march at 10: 30am ET; a limited-run bus tour on March 21, 22 and 28; a mural at 38 W. Grand Ave.; and a free community meeting 5: 30-8: 30pm ET the following day.

The historical project driving the bus tour relies on census documents, yearbooks and newspaper archives to reconstruct lives that official records often minimized. A project spokesperson explained that many historical documents listed women by domestic roles or by a husband’s name, obscuring leadership, unpaid labor and other contributions; the tour uses those recovered records to add public recognition and context at the tour stops.

Organizers and historians have framed the timing as part of Women’s History Month programming: the rally and march bring public demonstration to the holiday, the bus tour offers a record-driven restoration of overlooked local figures, and neighborhood events aim to pair celebration with services and engagement. If these scheduled events proceed as listed, attendees will be able to choose between public activism, historical tours and community resource offerings over the holiday weekend and into the following week.