Declaring and celebrating March as Women's History Month.

WHEREAS, Women of every rave, class and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of Philadelphia in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and

WHEREAS, Women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of the life of our City by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home; and

WHEREAS, Women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural institutions in our Nation; and

WHEREAS, Women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement; and

WHEREAS, American women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and other movements, especially the peace movement, which create a more fair and just society for all; and

WHEREAS, Despite these contributions, the role of American women in history has been consistently overlooked and undervalued, in the literature, teaching and study of American History; and

WHEREAS, Women hold the top three positions in this distinguished body, creating history today and providing examples for the women leaders of tomorrow; and

WHEREAS, The National Council of Negro Women, founded by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, established its Philadelphia Council in 1945, one of the first organized in the country; and

WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Council of the National Council of Negro Women is a long standing exemplary example of positive and powerful leadership for women in the City; now therefore

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Declares and celebrates March as “Women’s History Month.”

FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to the Philadelphia Council of the National Council of Negro women, further evidencing the sincere sentiments of this legislative body.

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