A Rumbling of Women, Revisited

In 2018, NCHS partnered with women who had been involved with the Women’s movement in Napa from the 1970s to 1990s to create a book, A Rumbling of Women: Napa Feminists 1970-1990. This virtual exhibit features chapter recordings from ten of the twenty-six contributors. Through many different professions, these women dedicated their time towards creating opportunities, advocating for women’s health and safety, and educating women and girls so they might empower their futures.

This exhibit will be highlighted for Women’s History Month, March 2022.

Click a name below to jump to a recording:

In preparation for this virtual exhibit, a panel discussion was held via Zoom and recorded on February 17th, 2022. The four panelists featured in the video are Lauren Coodley, Charlene Steen, Jan Svoboda, and Sudie Pollock. All four women contributed a chapter to A Rumbling of Women.

“I chose a social work school that had a specialized track called Women and Mental Health and a Task Force on Sexism… I knew that society-wide changes had to be involved in the liberation of women.”

“The dissonance between teaching exciting, empowering women’s literature and feminist theory while hiding who I was eventually became too inauthentic to bear. I could no longer be guarded with my students while asking them to share their lives openly.”

“I encouraged women to apply for city commissions. I lined up the next wave of women to serve on the planning commission, often a proving ground for interest and ability for council work.”

“There were only a handful of female attorneys in Napa County at that time. I arranged for a lot of free restraining orders for battered women during my two and a half years practicing law there.”

“I was part of a group of women that started the bilingual, bicultural childcare center at the college that provided women affordable quality childcare so they could continue to get their education.”