Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E259]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CELEBRATING WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
______
HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY
of indiana
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with great respect and admiration
that I rise today in observance of Women's History Month and its 2020
theme--Valiant Women of the Vote. Each year, the National Women's
History Project selects a unifying theme to recognize and promote
Women's History Month. This year's theme recognizes the centennial of
the 19th Amendment and honors the stories of women from the original
suffrage movement.
In the United States, women of every race, class, and ethnic
background have played a critical role with ensuring that women's
voices are heard. For generations, women have contributed to resolving
conflicts and have worked to promote equality in the workplace,
schools, homes, communities, and government. Women have insisted upon
and continue to fight for respect, justice, and equality for all of
humanity.
Throughout the years, women from diverse backgrounds have contributed
to the courageous movement that would secure a woman's right to vote.
Among these remarkable leaders being recognized this month are
passionate activists, including Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton,
Theresa Kumar, founder of Voto Latino, Terry Ao Minnis, Director of
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and Edith Mayo, curator at the
Smithsonian Museum and historian of women's suffrage. Also honored are
Lucy Burns, a Silent Sentinel who protested at the White House, and
Carrie Chapman Catt, a suffrage activist from Iowa who served as
president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA).
Wilhelmina Kekelaokalaninui Widemann Dowsett, a NAWSA member and
founder of a suffrage organization in Hawaii, Ana Roque de Duprey, a
Puerto Rican suffrage organizer, and Elizabeth Piper Ensley, a reporter
for the ``Women's Era'' and member of the National Association of
Colored Women, are also remembered for their contributions to the
movement.
We also recall the passionate efforts of Marie Foster, a civil rights
leader who marched from Selma to Montgomery and attempted to register
to vote eight times before being allowed to vote, Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua
Lee, a New York suffragist who earned a PhD in economics, and Virginia
Louisa Minor, the Missouri woman who appealed to the Supreme Court in
1874 for her right to vote. Finally, we salute Anna Howard Shaw, who
earned a Distinguished Service Medal during World War I and played a
critical role in the leadership of NAWSA. For their leadership and
outstanding dedication to women's rights, unity, and peace, these
courageous women are well deserving of our respect and admiration. I
commend them and the many others who fought alongside them for women of
every creed, class, and ethnic background. These fearless and strong
women serve as remarkable role models who reflect the 2020 theme,
Valiant Women of the Vote.
Madam Speaker, I am honored to join in celebrating Women's History
Month and recognizing the dedication, perseverance, contributions, and
advances great American women from all cultures and classes have made
to bettering our communities and the entire country. I ask that you and
my other distinguished colleagues join me in celebrating these
extraordinary women who have improved American society and whose
stories are woven into the fabric of our nation.
____________________