Surfing champion, hula masters, educators and advocates on Hawaii Women of the Century list
Are these mana wahine?
In Hawaiian, mana wahine translates to “powerful women,” and as a panel of experts worked to select Hawaii’s Women of the Century, they kept coming back to this phrase.
This year, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when American women won the right to vote, the USA TODAY Network is naming 10 women from every state, plus the District of Columbia, as “Women of the Century.”
Civil rights leader Elizabeth Peratrovich, senator Lisa Murkowski among 10 influential women from Alaska
In the 1940s, almost 20 years before Alaska became the 49th state of America, signs frequently were hung in store windows and doors that spoke to blatant racism in the area. Phrases like “No Natives Allowed” or “No Dogs or Indians” were common.
But Elizabeth Peratrovich was determined to change it. After all, hadn’t her Indigenous ancestors been here long before European settlers moved in?
This year, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when American women won the right to vote, the USA TODAY Network is naming 10 women from every state, plus the District of Columbia, as “Women of the Century.”