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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The celebration of Women's History Month in March |
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2013 provides a fitting opportunity to highlight the immeasurable |
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contributions of American women; and |
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WHEREAS, For more than two centuries, women have played a |
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critical role in the progress of our nation, though for too long |
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their efforts have been unsung and undervalued; and |
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WHEREAS, During the 18th and 19th centuries, women were |
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instrumental in transforming our society, despite not having the |
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protection of full citizenship and equal rights; in addition to |
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creating thousands of soldiers' aid societies and raising more than |
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$15 million for the troops during the Civil War, they formed |
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benevolent societies to care for widows, children, and the mentally |
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ill, endowed universities, and established hundreds of public |
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libraries across the country; they endured arrest and harassment |
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for demanding their inalienable rights, and they marched for social |
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justice for themselves and for others; and |
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WHEREAS, Because those determined women raised their |
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individual voices into a chorus that would not be silenced, women |
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now hold seats on the highest court in our land and serve bravely in |
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our military, and they win collegiate basketball championships and |
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elections, proving that a woman's place can be in the house and in |
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the House of Representatives; and |
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WHEREAS, This year's theme, "Women Inspiring Innovation |
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through Imagination," highlights the myriad achievements that |
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women have made in science, technology, engineering, and math; |
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among those honored by the National Women's History Project this |
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year are Grace Murray Hopper, one of the world's first computer |
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programmers, and Edith Clarke, a graduate of MIT, who became the |
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first female professor of electrical engineering in the country |
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when she was hired to teach at The University of Texas at Austin in |
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1947; and |
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WHEREAS, Women of every race, ethnicity, faith, and economic |
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background have contributed to the strength of our state and our |
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nation, and it is indeed fitting to pay tribute to the pioneering |
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women who shaped this nation's history and to those who are carrying |
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on their legacy today; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate March 2013 as Women's History Month and encourage |
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all Texans to learn more about the inspiring women who have |
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contributed so much to our country and to the Lone Star State. |