Lynn C. Woolsey: “March was the 20th Annual National Women's History Month. That is why I am so pleased to introduce H. Res. 1021, a…”

“March was the 20th Annual National Women's History Month. That is why I am so pleased to introduce H. Res. 1021, a resolution to recognize and honor this National Women's History Celebration. In America, women were once considered second-class citizens, whose rights were restricted from voting to property ownership, actually. But here we are today; one woman is a major candidate for President of our Nation and another woman is Speaker of the House of Representatives. Sadly, until the late 1970s, women's history wasn't taught in many of our schools, and was almost completely absent in media coverage and cultural celebrations. That is why the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women, which I chaired, initiated a Women's History Week Celebration in 1978. This celebration centered around International Women's History Day. The National Women's History Project, located in my district, was founded in 1980 by many dedicated women who poured their hearts and their ideas into promoting and expanding the weeklong celebration. With the help of several dedicated women, including Mary Ruthsdotter, Molly Murphy MacGregor, Maria Cuevas, Paula Hammett, and Betty Morgan, thousands of schools and communities joined in the commemoration of Women's History Week by bringing specific lessons on women's achievements into the classroom, by staging parades to engage neighborhoods in the celebration. Their hard work, their dedication paid off.…”