Senate Resolution No. 427

BY: Senator STEWART-COUSINS

        COMMEMORATING the induction of three new inductees
        into the New York State Senate's Historical Women of
        Distinction 2021 exhibit

  WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to acknowledge and
celebrate  individuals  and  events  of  historic significance which add
vitality, sensitivity, understanding and inspiration  to  the  diversity
and value of the people of this great Empire State; and

  WHEREAS,  Women  of  every economic, ethnic and religious background
have made significant contributions that are reflected in our  cultural,
social,   educational,  industrial  and  economic  diversity,  and  have
contributed in many ways, including as writers,  educators,  scientists,
heads   of   state,   politicians,   civil  rights  crusaders,  artists,
entertainers,    businesswomen,    military     personnel,     aviators,
entrepreneurs,   philanthropists,   health   professionals,   engineers,
religious leaders, judges, lawyers, law enforcement personnel, athletes,
mothers, nurturers and the building blocks of our communities; and

  WHEREAS, It is the purpose of this Legislative Body to induct  three
new  honorees  for  the  year  2021: trailblazing entrepreneur Rose Meta
Morgan (1912-2008); the  first  woman  appointed  to  the  U.S.  Cabinet
Frances  Perkins  (1880-1965);  and  the  first  Latina President of the
American Health Association Helen Rodriguez-Trias, MD (1929-2001); and

  WHEREAS, Women who have become part of New York's  lasting  heritage
by  fighting against stereotypes, prejudice and seemingly insurmountable
obstacles, include: Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), former slave and famous
activist; Harriet Tubman  (1820-1913),  best-known  "conductor"  of  the
Underground Railroad and promoter of black education and women's rights;
suffragettes  Susan  B.  Anthony  (1820-1906) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
(1815-1902); world renowned folk artist Grandma Moses (1860-1961); famed
reporter Nellie Bly (1867-1922); Sybil Ludington (1761-1839),  known  as
the   "female   Paul  Revere";  Barbara  McClintock  (1901-1992),  Nobel
Prize-winning genetic scientist; and "First Lady of the World,"  Eleanor
Roosevelt (1884-1962); and

  WHEREAS,  New  York State has been, and continues to be, the home to
many distinguished women who have made their  mark  in  history  as  the
first  in  their  field to succeed; representative of these "firsts" are
contributions by women such as: Lady Deborah  Moody  (1586-1659),  first
woman  grantee  for land ownership in the New World; Elizabeth Blackwell
(1821-1910), first female physician; America's first trained nurse Linda
Richards (1841-1930); Emma Willard (1787-1870),  founder  of  the  first
endowed  institution  of  education for women; hairdressing entrepreneur
Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919), Harlem leader and first self-made  female
millionaire   in   the   U.S.;   Buffalonian  Louise  Blanchard  Bethune
(1856-1913), first professional female architect in the Nation;  Lucille
Ball  (1911-1989),  actor and president of Desilu Productions, the first
woman to lead a major Hollywood  production  company;  Katharine  Bement
Davis (1860-1935), New York City Correction Commissioner, first woman to
head  a  major  City  agency; Winifred Edgerton Merrill (1862-1951), the
first American woman to receive a Ph.D. in Mathematics; Dr. Mary Edwards

Walker (1832-1919), the first and only woman to be  presented  with  the
Congressional  Medal of Honor; and Belva Lockwood (1830-1917), the first
woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court; and

  WHEREAS, This Legislative Body recognizes that New York State is the
home  to  countless  women who are strong and colorful threads, vital to
the fabric of our rich heritage, who have contributed, and  continue  to
add  to  the  advancement  of  our culture through their traditional and
non-traditional roles in society; now, therefore, be it

  RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its  deliberations  to
commemorate the induction of three new inductees into the New York State
Senate's Historical Women of Distinction 2021 exhibit; and be it further

  RESOLVED,  That  copies  of  this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the National Women's Hall of Fame and the New York  State
Division for Women.