Black belt worn by Kayla Harrison during the 2012 London Olympic Games when she became the first American (male or female) to win a gold medal in the sport of judo. Harrison began her judo career at age 6 and quickly rose to the top of the junior level field winning the 2003, 2004 and 2005 Junior US Open. in 2008, she became the third American to win the Junior World Championships and in 2010 only the fourth American to win the Senior World Championship. Harrison went on to become the only American to ever win an Olympic gold medal in judo at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games.
The 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad were held in London, England with 204 countries, 5,992 men and 4,776 women athletes participating. With the inclusion of women’s boxing, these Games became the first with female competitors in every sport and the first at which each country entered, had a female representative. Women’s boxing debuted and mixed doubles in tennis was held for the first time since the 1924 Games. American Michael Phelps won his 22nd medal making him the most decorated Olympic athlete of all time. Every athlete to win a medal at these Games was drug tested and as of 2017, 31 medals had been rescinded due to doping. The United States won the medal count with 104.
The 2016 Summer Olympics, also known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad were held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with 207 countries and 11,238 athletes participating. These were the first Olympic Games held entirely in the host country’s winter season and the first to be held in South America. These Games were designed with sustainability in mind and many of the features of the Games were made from recyclable materials. The Refugee Olympic Team entered 10 athletes for competition made up of refugees from the European Migrant crisis. The Zika virus was a factor in competition as many athletes decided to forgo the Games for fear of catching the virus spread through mosquitos. Michael Phelps came out of retirement to compete in the Games and added more medals to his historic count. Katie Ledecky won four gold medals and teammate Simone Manual won two gold and two silver medals becoming the first African American to win an individual swimming gold medal. Simone Biles dominated gymnastics, winning four gold and the women’s team won the all-around competition. The United States won the medal count with 121.
Telegraph relays amplified electrical signals in a telegraph line. Telegraph messages traveled as a series of electrical pulses through a wire from a transmitter to a receiver. Short pulses made a dot, slightly longer pulses a dash. The pulses faded in strength as they traveled through the wire, to the point where the incoming signal was too weak to directly operate a receiving sounder or register. A relay detected a weak signal and used a battery to strengthen the signal so that the receiver would operate.
This relay includes a marble base and was made by Charles T. Chester of New York City. The electromagnet coils are fixed but the steel core can be moved to adjust the strength of the magnetic field.
Gray baseball cap with thin blue stripes and a solid gray bill. This was worn by Esther Lozoya of the Hollywood Bloomer Girls in 1931. The Hollywood Bloomer Girls were an all-female baseball team playing in the minor leagues against semi-pro men's teams. Lozoya played as a 24 year old although most of the girls on the team were 17 or 18 years old. As a publicity stunt the team went to Universal City and had the Hollywood starlets put on their uniforms.
In agriculture, girls still work long hours around dangerous chemicals and are unprotected by child labor laws. These are not small family farms—this is agribusiness.
Federal laws passed in 1938 helped protect children under 16. But agriculture was exempt from this legislation, allowing children to continue working in fields across America.
Monica Camacho wore protective clothing to shield her from chemicals used in the field.
"It was just super hot because we had to wear . . . protective clothes like sweaters so the chemicals or the sun doesn't hit you." —Monica Camacho, 2018
In agriculture, girls still work long hours around dangerous chemicals and are unprotected by child labor laws. These are not small family farms—this is agribusiness.
Federal laws passed in 1938 helped protect children under 16. But agriculture was exempt from this legislation, allowing children to continue working in fields across America.
Monica Camacho wore protective clothing to shield her from chemicals used in the field.
"It was just super hot because we had to wear . . . protective clothes like sweaters so the chemicals or the sun doesn't hit you." —Monica Camacho, 2018
Sarah Leavitt’s Bat Mitzvah, Madison, Wisconsin, 1983
Religious communities have long played a role in defining the transition from girlhood to womanhood with rites of passage. Yet, girls take on these traditions and remake them in different ways.
In the synagogue, a thirteen-year-old boy becomes a man at his Bar Mitzvah. But no comparable ceremony sanctified girls’ coming of age until 1922, when a New York rabbi invented Bat Mitzvah for his daughter. By the late 1900s, Jewish girls had claimed the millennia-old ritual known as the Bar Mitzvah for themselves.
Sarah Leavitt grew up in Madison, where she celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at Temple Beth El. Both the boys and girls in her class took on the responsibilities of being a Jewish adult at age 13. However, the girls did not wear the traditional prayer shawl (tallit) or head covering, (yarmulke) that were still, then, only worn by the boys.
Bat Mitzvah’s often meant a new dress and a party. Reminiscent of Victorian romance, this Gunne Sax dress was all the rage in the early 1980s.
White, short sleeve jersey (#3) with red and blue trim on the sleeves, patches on both sleeves and the US National Team symbol on the left breast. This jersey was worn by Samantha (Sam) Mewis during the 2019 Women's World Cup Final in Paris, France, won by the U.S. Women's National Team 2-0 over the Netherlands. Mewis assisted on the second goal, scored by Rose Lavelle.. GoalPoint, a leading statistical evaluation company, rated Mewis the best U.S. player in the Final and the tournament as a whole, over more famous teammates Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, and Lavelle. Mewis' accomplishments on the field earned her the Player of the Year for 2020.
Navy, white and red letterman style jacket with a large red "C" on the left breast. This varsity jacket was worn by Jennifer Engelkirk while on the varisty softball team at Crossroads High School in the late 1980s.
Jordan Max-Ryan Englekirk was born intersex in 1972 and because he looked like a girl, grew up as Jennifer. Englekirk has personally identified as male for most of his life and growing up struggled with this dichotomy. Often bullied in school and berated by teachers and adults in his life, Englekirk finally made the transition to male in 2012, at 40 years old. He now lives as a man but during high school, while still living as Jennifer, Englekirk became a member of the girls’ softball team and soon was a leader on the diamond. Sports was an important outlet for creating his identity. Englekirk kept sports in his life as an adult and eventually became the first woman to ump at Cooperstown Little Majors Stadium for Little League tournament games.