Bill Text: NY J01998 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulating the 2024 New York State Senate's Historical Women of Distinction

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2024-03-19 - ADOPTED [J01998 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-J01998-Introduced.html

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Senate Resolution No. 1998

BY: Senator STEWART-COUSINS

        CONGRATULATING  the  2024  New York State Senate's
        Historical Women of Distinction

  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 five
new honorees for the year 2024: nurse officer  and  Rear  Admiral,  Faye
Glenn   Abdellah  (1919-2017);  librarian  and  educator,  Pura  Belpre'
(1899-1982); social activist, Susan Wu Rathbone (1921-2019); singer  and
composer,  Joanne Lynn Shenandoah (1957-2021); organic chemist, Giuliana
Tesoro (1921-2002); 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 five new inductees into the New York State
Senate's Historical Women of Distinction 2024 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.