March is recognized as Women’s History Month + before we know it, May will be here — prompting local election season. The 2022 Primary will be held on Tues., May 17.

Today, we’re introducing you to someone who can elaborate a bit more on both of these topics — Lexington-focused women’s history + civic engagement.

Carly Muetterties is the co-author of a children’s book called Bluegrass Bold: Stories of Kentucky Women, a former Tates Creek High School teacher + a board member at CivicLex.

Why did you choose to write a children’s book about prominent Kentucky women?

Women are incredibly underrepresented in Kentucky history. People mainly associate the history of the commonwealth with Daniel Boone, Abraham Lincoln + Henry Clay. I wanted to be the voice of these badass Kentucky women and help bring their stories to the surface.

Bluegrass Bold: Stories of Kentucky Women | Graphic provided by Carly Muetterties

Who is one local historical female figure that you admire?

Sophonsiba Breckinridge. She was the first woman to pass the Kentucky bar exam + worked to reform social problems and public policy. People don’t talk about her enough because she liked to put others in the spotlight while working behind the scenes to connect the dots.

What steps can people take to become more civically engaged in their community?

I always told my students that we can’t all be Martin Luther King Jr. We can’t all be written into the history books. Basic civic engagement starts at your local coffee shop. It starts by staying informed and having conversations, sometimes complicated conversations.

Editor’s Note: If you’re interested in learning more about female figures from Kentucky’s history, Carly suggested the following sources:

Carly also said that readers can reach out to her personally for ideas on how to get more women’s history incorporated into Kentucky classrooms.