2024 -- H 8036

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING MARCH OF 2024, TO BE "WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH" IN THE STATE

OF RHODE ISLAND

     Introduced By: Representatives Cotter, Kazarian, Fogarty, Carson, Speakman, Donovan,
Spears, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, and Chippendale

     Date Introduced: March 07, 2024

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, The year 2024 marks the 37th annual celebration of National Women's

History Month; and

     WHEREAS, During March 6-12 of 1978, the very first unofficial "National Women's

History Week" was celebrated in Santa Rosa, California, by the Sonoma County Commission on

the Status of Women's Education Task Force, including International Women's Day on March

8th; and

     WHEREAS, On July 14-29, 1979, Nancy Rose Foye-Cox, now of Richmond, Rhode

Island, and Deborah N. Pearlman, Ph.D, now of Providence, were two of 52 participants in the

"Summer Institute in Women's History" at Sarah Lawrence College-Bronxville, New York,

representing 37 national women's organizations, who called for the first ever National Women's

History Week in 1980, and all participants were also National Women's Month national co-

founders in 1987; and

     WHEREAS, On February 28, 1980, President Jimmy Carter signed the very first

"National Women's History Week" Proclamation for the Week of March 2-8, 1980; and

     WHEREAS, On March 12, 1987, the United States Senate and House of Representatives

passed a Joint Resolution, designating the first official "Women's History Month"; and

     WHEREAS, On March 16, 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed and issued the very

first Presidential Proclamation designating March as "Women's History Month"; and

     WHEREAS, Women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic

contributions to the growth and strength of our State and Nation in countless recorded and

unrecorded ways; and

     WHEREAS, Women have played and continue to play critical economic, cultural, and

social roles in every sphere of life in Rhode Island by constituting a significant portion of the

labor force working inside and outside of the home; and

     WHEREAS, Women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable,

philanthropic, and cultural institutions in our State; and

     WHEREAS, Women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders

in the forefront of every major social change movement and have served our country

courageously in all branches of the military and public safety; and

     WHEREAS, Women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage

and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the

industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and especially the peace movement, which

creates a fairer and just society for all; and

     WHEREAS, Despite these contributions, the role of women has been consistently

overlooked and undervalued, in the literature, culture, and the study of American history; and

     WHEREAS, The national Women's History Month theme for 2024 is "Women Who

Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion." This theme acknowledges that "for a positive

future, we need to eliminate bias and discrimination entirely from our lives and institutions", and

that "women from every background have long realized that a uneven playing field will never

bring equality or justice"; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

proclaims March of 2024, to be "Women's History Month" in recognition of the myriad

contributions of women throughout our history; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable President of the United States,

Joseph Biden, the Honorable Governor of the State of Rhode Island, Daniel McKee, and the

Rhode Island Congressional Delegation.

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