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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The observance of Women's History Month in March |
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2019 provides an opportunity to celebrate the enormous |
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contributions women have made to our society; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1978, the event began as a weeklong program in |
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Santa Rosa, California, sponsored by the Education Task Force of |
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the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women; the organizers |
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selected the week of March 8 to correspond with International |
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Women's Day; activities included an essay contest, presentations at |
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dozens of schools, and a downtown parade; and |
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WHEREAS, Other communities across the country were inspired |
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to launch their own Women's History Week celebrations the following |
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year; in 1980, the National Women's History Alliance led a |
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consortium of women's groups and historians in advocating for |
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national recognition, and that February, President Jimmy Carter |
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issued a proclamation declaring the week of March 8 to be National |
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Women's History Week; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1987, at the behest of the National Women's |
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History Alliance, Congress expanded the observance to the entire |
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month; the alliance selects the theme each year, and for 2019, it |
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has chosen "Visionary Women: Champions of Peace and Nonviolence" to |
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honor those "who have led efforts to end war, violence, and |
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injustice and pioneered the use of nonviolence to change society"; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Many historians in Texas have dedicated their |
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efforts to discovering and recognizing the legacy of women in the |
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Lone Star State and exploring what it means to be a Texas woman; in |
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1991 Governor Ann Richards supported this endeavor by issuing the |
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first gubernatorial proclamation in the state's history to declare |
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March Women's History Month; and |
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WHEREAS, Women have played a vital role in the development of |
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Texas and the United States, and National Women's History Month |
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provides an opportunity to acknowledge achievements that have too |
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often gone unsung; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize March 2019 as National Women's History |
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Month. |