Bill Text: MS SC656 | 2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Designate March 2016 as "Women's History Month in Mississippi."
Sponsorship: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 8-4)
Status: (Passed) 2016-04-14 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC656 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2016-SC656-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2016 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Dawkins, Caughman, Dearing, DeBar, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd), McMahan, Norwood, Simmons (12th), Stone, Watson
Senate Concurrent Resolution 656
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DESIGNATING MARCH 2016 AS "WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH IN MISSISSIPPI" WITH ITS THEME "WORKING TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION: HONORING WOMEN IN PUBLIC SERVICE AND GOVERNMENT," CELEBRATING THE 36TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE WOMEN'S HISTORY MOVEMENT.
WHEREAS, March 2016 is National Women's History Month with its theme "Working to Form a More Perfect Union: Honoring Women in Public Service and Government." The National Women's History Month theme for 2016 honors women who have shaped America's history and its future through their public service and government leadership. Although often overlooked and undervalued, collectively they have dramatically influenced our public policy and the building of viable institutions and organizations. From championing basic human rights to ensuring access and equal opportunity for all Americans, they have led the way in establishing a stronger and more democratic country. Each of these public leaders succeeded against great odds. The diversity of their experiences demonstrates both the challenges and the opportunities women in public service have faced. Their ability to use the art of collaboration to create inclusive solutions and nonpartisan policies, as well as their skill and determination, serve to inspire future generations. The tenacity of each Honoree underlines the fact that women from all cultural backgrounds in all levels of public service and government are essential in the continuing work of forming a more perfect union; and
WHEREAS, 2016 National Women's History Month Honorees are: Sister Mary Madonna Ashton, CSJ, Minnesota Commissioner of Health; Daisy Bates, Leader of the Little Rock School Integration; Sonia Pressman Fuentes, NOW Cofounder, first Woman Attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission; Isabel Gonzalez, Champion of Puerto Ricans Securing American Citizenship; Ella Grasso, Governor of Connecticut, first Woman Governor of any United State Elected in Her Own Right; Suzan Shown Harjo, Native American Public Policy Advocate and Journalist; Judy Hart, National Park Founding Superintendent of Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park and Women's Rights National Historical Park; Oveta Culp Hobby, World War II Director of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and first Secretary of the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare; Barbara Mikulski, longest-serving woman in the United States Congress; Inez Milholland, Woman Suffrage Leader and Martyr; Karen Narasaki, Civil and Human Rights Leader; Nancy Grace Roman, Chief of Astronomy at NASA; Bernice Sandler, Women's Rights Activist, "Godmother of Title IX"; Nadine Smith, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Civil Rights Activist and Executive Director of Equality Florida; Dorothy C. Stratton, World War II Director of the SPARS (Coast Guard Women's Reserve), first full-time Dean of Women at Purdue University, and Executive Director of the Girl Scouts of the United States; and Betty Mae "Pa-Tuth-Kee" Tiger Jumper, first woman elected Chairperson of the Seminole Tribe, becoming the first female "Tribal Chief" in North America; and
WHEREAS, 2016 is also the 36th Anniversary of the Women's History Movement and the National Women's History Project. We are proud that, after decades of dedicated research and technological advances, the stories of American women from all cultures and classes are accessible and visible as never before. Numerous scholars and activists helped shape the Women's History Movement, and also provided the research and energy which created and sustained the national Women's History Project. During 2016, we recognize and celebrate the many ways that women's history has become woven into the fabric of our national story; and
WHEREAS, in National Women's History Month, we honor all women who have touched this nation's history and our own personal history, and women who contribute to the people and ideals of this great country; and
WHEREAS, although women now outnumber men in American colleges nationwide, the reversal of the gender gap is a very recent phenomenon. The fight to learn was a valiant struggle waged by many tenacious women, across years and across cultures, in our country. After the American Revolution, the notion of education as a safeguard for democracy created opportunities for girls to gain a basic education, based largely on the premise that, as mothers, they would nurture not only the bodies but also the minds of male citizens and leaders. The concept that educating women meant educating mothers endured in America for many years, at all levels of education. While Harvard, the first college chartered in America, was founded in 1636, it would be almost two centuries before the founding of the first college to admit women, Oberlin, which was chartered in 1833; and
WHEREAS, the equal opportunity to learn, taken for granted by most young women today, owes much to Title IX of the Education Codes of the Higher Education Act Amendments. This legislation, passed in 1972 and enacted in 1977, prohibited gender discrimination by federally funded institutions. It has become the primary tool for women's fuller participation in all aspects of education from scholarships, to facilities, to classes formerly closed to women. Indeed, it transformed the educational landscape of the United States within the span of a generation; and
WHEREAS, American women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural and social role in every sphere of the life of the nation by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home. American women have played a unique role throughout the history of the nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force of the nation. American women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic and cultural institutions in our nation; and
WHEREAS, American women of every race, class and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways. Women's history becomes a story of inspiration and hope, a story of courage and tenacity, and a story of possibility and purpose. Women's history is our nation's story. It is the story of how women built communities and inspired and nurtured dreams and how they will continue to do so; and
WHEREAS, to emphasize the role of women in our state, the Legislature in 2001 established the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women to advise and consult with the Legislature and the executive branch on policies affecting the political status and other concerns of women in Mississippi; and it is with great pride that we recognize women who serve as role models in pioneering Mississippi's future:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby designate March 2016 as "Women's History Month in Mississippi" with its theme "Working To Form A More Perfect Union: Honoring Women In Public Service and Government," celebrating the 36th Anniversary of the Women's History Movement.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be forwarded to the Mississippi Commission on the Status of Women to observe appropriate programs, ceremonies and activities, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
