Female Voices Kickoff Women's History Month

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CHERYL CORLEY, host:

March is the month when we recognize the remarkable women in American history. Here on TELL ME MORE we've been fortunate to speak with a number of extraordinary women who've been pioneers in a range of fields and they've shared their lessons from a lifetime of breaking down barriers for the next generation.

We heard from Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the current president of Liberia and the first female head of state anywhere in Africa. She revealed some of the challenges that come with being a trailblazer, including isolation.

President ELLEN JOHNSON-SIRLEAF (Liberia): I go to African Union summits and I'm the only woman there. So I can't huddle - if there were another woman, we would huddle in the corner and take common positions - it's difficult to do that. Although, as a professional, with many of the leaders having known me for many years, I'm fully accepted. But at the same time, you know, they're wondering what position she will take.

Will you, as a woman, bring some strange ideas to the dialogue? Or will you be pushing the kinds of things that don't get on the table conventionally? So you find your way and sometimes you feel a bit lonely and wish there were two or three others of your kind that could push a common agenda.

CORLEY: The agenda of 1950s Hollywood didn't hold a lot of opportunities for Rita Moreno as one of the first Hispanic women to win for her starring roles on Broadway television and movies. She holds a Tony, a Grammy, an Emmy and an Oscar, something that only a handful of other performers can boast.

Her acting resume has grown from the early days to embrace more complex and nuanced characters. Yet, Rita Moreno told TELL ME MORE that stereotypes were the only available roles at the beginning of her career.

Ms. RITA MORENO (Actor): It was very rather heartbreaking time for me because when I was out of work I was miserable and when I got work I was relieved temporarily and then I would be doing the same kind of roles where I had to talk like this, you know. You don't like Lolita, well, I'm going to show you. Then I would get depressed all over again because it's not what I wanted to do.

If I was doing a movie that was supposed to have Hispanic people in it, they may be extras. But I also played a lot of Indian maidens, American Indians. You know, it was just ridiculous when you think about it. But there I was in buckskins in these B westerns with feathers sticking out of my head.

CORLEY: Confronting those distorted images are just part of the mission for another influential woman whose views we've shared on this program. Wilma Mankiller made history as the first female chief of the Cherokee Nation. And she's become one of the most prominent voices for Native American rights in the country. Wilma Mankiller told us the fight for equality and respect is still going on.

Ms. WILMA MANKILLER (Activist, Former Cherokee Nation Chief): And virtually every sector of society, native people, whether they're in tribal government or whether they're in the private sector, they encounter people every day who have so little accurate information about either the history of native people or their contemporary lives.

And so all of us who are active in our communities and active in the country and we talk about that. What can we do? Do we need to do more forums? Do we need to have more native journalists? Do we have to create more native films? And, actually, all those things are being done. So I'm guardedly optimistic that it will change in the future.

CORLEY: That was activist Wilma Mankiller. We also heard from actress Rita Moreno and Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the president of Liberia. We plan to present many more pioneers during Woman's History month. If you have a suggestion for a voice you'd like to hear, please go to our blog at npr.org and click on TELL ME MORE.

You can also call our comment line at area code 202-842-3522. Again, that's area code 202-842-3522. And that's our program for today. I'm Cheryl Corley. This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Let's talk more tomorrow.

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