National Equality Observance Themes, Courtesy of Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Institute-DEOMI

Americans represent many cultures and backgrounds, celebrate our diversity.

National Observance Themes	Date	Source/Theme
Martin Luther King’s Birthday	16 January 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: The King Center  Remember! Celebrate! Act!  A Day On, Not A Day Off!! (This theme does not change.)
African American/Black History Month	1-29 February 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: Study of African American Life and History (ASALH)  Black Women in American Culture and History
Women’s History Month	1-31 March 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: Women’s History Project  Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment
Holocaust Remembrance Day  Days of Remembrance	19 April 2012  15-22 April 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum  Choosing to Act: Stories of Rescue
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month	1-31 May 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: Federal Asian Pacific American Council  Striving for Excellence in Leadership, Diversity and Inclusion
Women’s Equality Day	26 August 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: Women’s History Project  Celebrating Women's Right to Vote (This theme does not change.)
Hispanic Heritage Month	15 September-  15 October 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: National Council of Hispanic Employment Program Managers  Diversity United, Building America’s Future Today
National Disability Employment Awareness Month	1-31 October 2012	National and Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: Department of Labor  A Strong Workforce is an Inclusive Workforce: What Can YOU Do?
National American Indian Heritage Month	1-30 November 2012	Department of Defense USD (P&R) Theme  Source: Society of American Indian Government Employees (SAIGE)  Serving Our People, Serving Our Nations: Native Visions for Future Generations

May - Asian American Pacific American Heritage Month

The Holocaust, Days of Rememberance

 What is Days of Remembrance?

The U.S. Congress established Days of Remembrance as the nation’s annual commemoration of the Holocaust and created the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a permanent living memorial to the victims. This year, Holocaust Remembrance week is May 1 through May 8, 2011. The Museum designated “Justice and Accountability in the Face of Genocide: What Have We Learned?” as the theme for the 2011 observance. In accordance with its congressional mandate, the Museum is responsible for leading the nation in commemorating Days of Remembrance and for encouraging appropriate observances throughout the United States. The United States Holaucaust Museum: http://www.ushmm.org/



What is the Holocaust? Who are we remembering?

The Holocaust was the state-sponsored, systematic persecution and annihilation of European Jewry by Nazi
Germany and its collaborators between 1933 and 1945. Jews were the primary victims—six million were murdered; Roma (Gypsies), people with disabilities, and Poles were also targeted for destruction or decimation for racial, ethnic, or national reasons. Millions more, including homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Soviet prisoners of war,and political dissidents, also suffered grievous oppression and death under Nazi Germany.

Why is Days of Remembrance observed in the United States?

In 1980, Congress unanimously passed legislation to establish the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, which oversees the Museum. The Council, which succeeded the President’s Commission on the Holocaust, was charged with carrying out the following recommendations:

• That a living memorial be established to honor the victims and survivors of the Holocaust and to ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust will be taught in perpetuity

• That an educational foundation be established to stimulate and support research in the teaching of the Holocaust.

• That a Committee on Conscience be established that would collect information on and alert the national
conscience regarding reports of actual or potential outbreaks of genocide throughout the world.

• That a national day of remembrance of victims of the Holocaust be established in perpetuity and be held annually.

The Days of Remmberance 2011 Theme: What Have We Learned?    http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/dor/years/detail.php?content=2011&lang=

Womens History Month

Poster from Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.
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March is Women’s History Month, Library of Congress presentation.
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The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society.
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-About Women’s History Month
Before the 1970’s, the topic of women’s history was largely missing from general public consciousness. To address this situation, the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women initiated a “Women’s History Week” celebration in 1978 and chose the week of March 8 to coincide with International Women’s Day.
The celebration was met with positive response, and schools began to host their own Women’s History Week programs. The next year, leaders from the California group shared their project at a Women’s History Institute at Sarah Lawrence College. Other participants not only became determined to begin their own local Women’s History Week projects but also agreed to support an effort to have Congress declare a national Women’s History Week.
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In 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) cosponsored the first Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a “Women’s History Week.”
In 1987, the National Women’s History Project petitioned Congress to expand the celebration to the entire month of March. Since then, the National Women’s History Month Resolution has been approved every year with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
Information from the National Women’s History Project
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About This Year's Theme:
-Writing Women Back into History
The overarching theme is “Writing Women Back into History.” In celebration of their 30th anniversary, the National Women’s History Project will be highlighting themes and honorees from previous years. Each of these past themes recognizes a different aspect of women’s achievements, from ecology to art, and from sports to politics.
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Library of Congress Link: http://www.womenshistorymonth.gov/