Throughout history women have had to fight obstacles to power and to overcome perceptions of their role in society. This February, for Black History Month, the Main Library will showcase African-American women who refused to take a limited role, and became leaders who made a difference in the Cincinnati community.

Join us on Feb. 3 for the first event: Historian John Harshaw and members of the Cincinnati Federation of Colored Women talk about one of the oldest African-American women’s organizations in the U.S. Established in 1904 with a mission to cultivate and educate women; the federation had 40 chapters by the 1950s. The women established day cares, cultural art groups, and scholarship awards. They also provided clothes and food for needy families, and volunteers for hospitals and retirement homes. The program also looks at efforts to preserve and renovate the federation’s clubhouse, a Samuel Hannaford-designed mansion and registered national historic landmark, at 1010 Chapel Street in Walnut Hills.