In a world where countless contributions have been overlooked, erased or credited to the wrong people, the Oak Park High School Forget-Me-Not Society is determined to bring forgotten stories back into the light. Named after the flower that symbolizes remembrance, the club is dedicated to uncovering the achievements of marginalized individuals whose voices were ignored throughout history. Through research, discussion, and community engagement, members work to restore recognition to those who were pushed aside and make sure their stories are never forgotten again.
“There are a lot of history books that are outdated and give credit to [people in power], things that women and minorities achieved and never got credit for,” junior president Alice Cetlin said. “And we’re trying to give them that credit at some point and also talk more about it, because it happens more often than we think.”
Reflecting on the club’s origins, junior vice president Lila Marshall described how the idea first formed in a passing conversation between friends and grew into what it is today.
“It was Alice’s idea because she was living in Brazil at the time. We still stayed in touch since we had been friends in 7th grade…and she brought up the idea to me,” Marshall said. “I thought it was such a good idea, because I’ve always wanted to do something related to history. And I’ve always wanted to join a club that was involved in it, but there wasn’t really anything at the school that was similar.”
With many instances in history in which women and minorities are overlooked, Marshall hopes to shed light on these individuals.
“One I’ve done some research on is Einstein’s wife and how she discovered a lot of things that were kind of ingenious, but he took credit for a lot of her discoveries. She helped him realize some things that she got no credit for,” Marshall said. “And I think if someone like her who has been overshadowed or swept to the side by their husband or a man in their life, I think they’d probably be grateful that someone was trying to actually bring awareness to what they did.Because even so many years after her death and after the time when she made an impact, it still matters. Especially because today women and minorities are still having their achievements taken from them.”
One of the first steps of this movement is to address the lack of awareness and willful ignorance common in society today. Marshall reflects on her own subconscious ignorance.
“I’m ashamed to say I actually don’t know her first name, I even have to do some self-reflection. I also think of it in a patriarchal light where men sort of define women,” Marshall said. “And so, again, the purpose of our club is to shift that narrative and make it so that not just women but anyone who has been oppressed can actually stand on their own without someone patronizing them.”
Cetlin and Marshall intend for the club’s impact to reach beyond the campus, spreading awareness for instances within history where individuals were ignored. This erasure is still prevalent today and Forget-Me-Not Society intends on addressing this issue head on.
“It’s really important to bring light to these people who exist before and still exist, because it’s an ongoing problem. Everyone deserves recognition for what they’ve done, not just the guy in power,” Marshall said. “Not so many years ago, women’s husbands had to receive the Nobel Prize for them, even though it was their work.”
Cetlin expresses her hopes to grow the club’s membership in the following years.
“Part of a club is having active participants,” Cetlin said “With everybody having so much schoolwork and events for college, we’ve had few participants come to our meetings. So really it is the community that helps us build it up. I think a way anyone could help is just showing up when we do our bake sale, like buying baked goods from us.”
The club is amidst the process of choosing their first figure to highlight and has a plethora of plans to come.
“Currently we’re choosing our first person, we’ve asked our club members to do their own research and find people that they’re interested in and then email a short synopsis of their life story to us, and we’re gonna decide sort of with the club who we collectively feel is the most impactful and the most interesting for our current mission. Whoever we choose will be highlighted in our bake sale.” Marshall said.
The club has high hopes for the future. Looking to expand their club’s reach, Cetlin shares the club’s plans to not only help the community but also spread the club’s message to the community.
“We’re gonna host a bake sale in honor of a figure our club members pick in December and we’ll donate the proceeds to a homeless shelter.” Cetlin said.
For those who are interested, the club’s doors are open to everyone. Meetings are in H-01 every other Wednesday.
“We just get to talk and have fun and do something that we know will have an impact.. You can make friends and our teacher’s awesome. [Doctor Anderson] provides a very comfortable and safe space to have our club in. We love King DA.”
