One of Bill Moyers’ March 20 guests is a true unsung heroine in her own right–her work with victims of domestic abuse in Texas is a testament to her tenacity and strength of spirit. Watch an interview with Marta Peláez, president and CEO of Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc., now.

The number, and breadth of the songs and hits that session bassist Carol Kaye worked on is almost inconceivable. Kaye was at the center of both the pop and movie soundtrack world of Los Angeles for more than a decade; yet she’s still virtually unknown. Read more….

In 1957, Minnijean Brown Trickey was one of nine African-American students who broke the color barrier at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Read an interview with Trickey about her experiences as a member of the ‘Little Rock Nine,’ and her work as a social activist today.

There are few people in the world like Sunni Patterson, the visionary poet, singer, and activist. A voice for those who struggle daily, Patterson offers hope and calls for change. The power in her words lies not only in their meaning, but in their delivery. Read more about Patterson and watch her read her work.

As part of our month-long focus on women’s history, Thirteen/WNET is airing programs that take a look at lives of extraordinary women, from the very famous to the unsung pioneers in their fields. Some can be viewed online as well.

The title for this 1975 video, containing an interview conducted by Studs Terkel, is “Texas Maverick”. Farenthold, a Texas lawyer and legislator, was the first woman to be seriously considered as a VP candidate, in 1972. Though she didn’t win, she’s been an outspoken critic of government on the local and national level for decades. See vintage video and read a recent interview.

Read about the woman who was instrumental in shaping women’s (and basic human) rights in postwar Japan–even as an outsider/expatriate, and at age 22.

Some of our heroines are recognized for their work–but sometimes more locally than nationally. Though she was instrumental in saving the character of the Village in Manhattan, elsewhere Jacobs’ work and her ideas are still slow to be implemented, if only because they often go against the schemes of capital in favor of a smaller-scale, [...]

We consider an ‘unsung heroine’ a woman whose work/life has been under-recognized. Unfortunately, that still means most women! But here are our picks for groundbreaking inventors, artists, scientists, and more, who go beyond the “first woman to…” role.

One of the fortunate few who survived the Holocaust, young Judith Ginsburg served with a Jewish resistance group that successfully fought the Nazis. Learn how she endured though horrific times. Read more…