National Archives Celebrates Title IX 50th Anniversary
Press Release · Monday, June 13, 2022

Washington, DC

The National Archives celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX with a featured document display, sports exhibit, and related programs. These are free and open to the public and (with the exception of the June 21 program) will be at the National Archives Museum’s West Rotunda Gallery in Washington, DC, located on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. Fully accessible. Metro: Yellow or Green lines, Archives/Navy Memorial station. 

Title IX was passed as part of the Education Amendments Act of 1972. It prohibits sex discrimination in education programs supported by federal dollars, including high school and collegiate athletic programs. The act dramatically increased the number of women playing sports. Before Title IX, one in 27 girls played sports. Today that number is two in five. Although Title IX guaranteed equal opportunity, it did not guarantee equal spending. Women’s athletic budgets and scholarship funds still lag far behind men’s. In recent years, collegiate athletes have used social media to bring attention to these disparities.

Title IX–related Featured Document Display: The Patsy Mink Act
June 21–September 7, 2022, West Rotunda Gallery
Sex discrimination in education put Patsy Mink on a path to becoming a legislator. Title IX was to be her signature legislative achievement. Denied entry to medical school because of her sex, Patsy Mink entered law school instead. She went on to become the first Asian American and first woman of color elected to Congress. The educational discrimination Mink faced as a young woman fueled her desire to secure equality for women in education. Title IX, the legislation she co-authored and fought for, was renamed the “Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act” after her death in 2002.

• Display of the Senate vote tally for S. 659 (Title IX), March 1, 1972. 88 Senators voted for Title IX. Only six voted against it. Sports weren’t the focus of Title IX, which passed the Senate with broad Republican and Democratic support. The legislation was designed to extend civil rights and anti-discrimination protection to girls and women in all aspects of education. But sports are where the law has had its most measurable impact.
• Display of Public Law 107-255: Joint Resolution recognizing the contributions of Patsy Takemoto Mink, signed on October 29, 2002.
   

Related Virtual Program: Title IX: Then & Now
June 21, 2022, 5 p.m. ET, Register online for this virtual program.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, join the National Archives Foundation, the Women’s Sports Foundation and two NCAA Division 1 Athletic Directors in conversation about the history of Title IX, how this landmark legislation affected the landscape of women’s athletics, how it changed the trajectory of their personal involvement in sports, and how they witness the ongoing influence of the legislation in college athletics and at their institutions. Featured speakers include Sarah J. Axelson, Vice President, Advocacy, Women’s Sports Foundation; Beth Goetz, Director of Athletics, Ball State University, and Desiree Reed-Francois, Director of Athletics, University of Missouri. 

Related Upcoming Exhibit: All American: The Power of Sports
Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery, September 16, 2022, through January 7, 2024
All American has an entire section on Title IX, including a display of the original Title IX. All American features Althea Gibson, Kathrine Switzer, Billie Jean King, #SheBelieves (Women's World Cup), the WNBA, Dominique Dawes, and more! Press release here. All American: The Power of Sports is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of AT&T, AARP, and Mars, Incorporated. Additional support provided by HISTORY® and the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family. Opening Month support provided by Anheuser-Busch. 

The fight for Title X is part of continued advocacy for women’s rights. Since the founding of our country, women have redefined their roles and carved out a place for themselves in society and government. From the decades-long campaign for voting rights to expanding social and economic equality through legislation, women and women’s rights advocates have continued to fight for rights and privileges of citizenship.

Related programs and online resources: 

• Women's Rights: Legislation and Advocacy
• Rightfully Hers: Select documents from the fight for woman suffrage
• Working for Suffrage: How Class and Race Shaped the U.S. Suffrage Movement
• Online Exhibits: Rightfully Hers highlights on Google Arts and Culture
• Women's Rights: Records, information, and resources on Archives.gov
• DocsTeach: primary sources and activities for teaching about Women's Rights 
• Women and the Vote: 19th Amendment, Power, Media, and the Making of a Movement
• Records Reveal Women’s Equal Rights Struggles - National Archives News 
• Women’s History and Centennial of the 19th Amendment - online resources