WETA

On this day in 1972, Congress passed Title IX — the law banning s*x discrimination in education — and the woman most responsible for it was a part-time psychology instructor from Silver Spring.

Bernice Sandler had been teaching at the University of Maryland in the late 1960s when seven full-time positions opened in her department. Despite her qualifications and her existing role there, she wasn’t considered for any of them. When she asked why, a faculty member told her she "came on too strong for a woman." Other rejections followed, and Sandler began investigating.

She found that 57% of instructors in 15 UMD departments were women, but more than half of those departments had no female full professors, and none had female department heads. She dug into civil rights law, found a footnote in a 1968 executive order prohibiting s*x discrimination by federal contractors, and ran with it — filing an industry-wide complaint against higher education with the Department of Labor. Two years later, Congress passed Title IX.

WETA’s Boundary Stones has the full story at the link in the comments below.

Happy Juneteenth to our DMV community. Today honors the moment in 1865 when the last enslaved Americans finally received word of their freedom — a day of profound significance in American history, and one that resonates deeply here in Washington. Our region has its own chapter in this story: on April 16, 1862, President Lincoln signed the District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, freeing more than 3,100 enslaved people in the capital eight and a half months before the Emancipation Proclamation. WETA's Boundary Stones has the story of DC's emancipation history at the link in the comments below.

District Docs is a new WETA showcase of independent, nonfiction films from creators living and working right here in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia region, streaming free on YouTube every Thursday at 8pm.

Premiering TONIGHT: Kil and the Kids — In Southeast D.C., a mentor named Kil supports kids coping with gun violence in this Emmy-winning short film. When another teen is robbed at gunpoint, Kil helps him process the trauma through art and expression, revealing how showing up can transform pain into resilience. Presented with thanks to Community Voice Lab at American University.

Streaming link is in the comments.