Marguerite's March President's Letter

March 4, 2015

Re: #Iwilltry, #InternationalWomensDay

Dear SCWLA members and friends,

Sunday, March 8 is International Women's Day. Founded in the early 1900s to rally against injustices to women, International Women's Day focuses today on celebrating recent advances of women around the globe. March 8, as fate would have it, is also my birthday.

I was named after my grandmother, Marguerite. On my 16th birthday, my grandmother gave me a ring that belonged to her mother. It was a simple gold band engraved with three words: I will try. As she handed me this gift, my grandmother said, Words to live by. And so, I have tried.

I will try, it seems to me, are also words befitting International Women's Day. This March 8, I ask you to do two things. First, try. Try to remember the women who have gone before you; try to celebrate the women around you; and try to remember that it is your job to guard against inequality and injustice for not only your sisters and daughters, but also your brothers and sons. Second, share the words I will try. Tweet them, email them, use Facebook. Take a picture of yourself holding an I will try sign and post it on Instagram. Take a video of you and your friends chanting I will try and post it on YouTube. Or simply forward this letter to your friends and ask them to send it on.

Let me end with an old, dear fairy tale. One day, a young fairy and her grandmother were standing on the top of a great mountain. Looking down, the young fairy said, But what if I fall? The grandmother replied, But oh, my darling, what if you fly?

With best personal wishes, and more to come.

Marguerite Willis
President