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1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, American women of every race, class, and ethnic
3 background have made historic contributions to the growth and
4 strength of our nation and State in countless recorded and
5 unrecorded ways; and
 
6     WHEREAS, American women have played and continue to play a
7 critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of
8 the life in the State of Illinois by constituting a significant
9 portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the
10 home; and
 
11     WHEREAS, American women have played a unique role
12 throughout the history of Illinois by providing the majority of
13 the volunteer labor force of the State; and
 
14     WHEREAS, American women were particularly important in the
15 establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural
16 institutions in our State; and
 
17     WHEREAS, American women of every race, class, and ethnic
18 background have served as early leaders in the forefront of
19 every major progressive social change movement; and
 
20     WHEREAS, American women have been leaders, not only in

 

 

HJ0020 - 2 - LRB096 11725 GRL 22452 r

1 securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity,
2 but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation
3 movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights
4 movement, and other movements, particularly the peace
5 movement, which created a more fair and just society for all;
6 and
 
7     WHEREAS, Despite these contributions, the role of American
8 women in history, in Illinois, and across the nation has been
9 consistently overlooked and undervalued, in the literature,
10 teaching, and study of American history; therefore, be it
 
11     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
13 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we designate the month of March
14 2009, and every March thereafter, as "Women's History Month" in
15 the State of Illinois and urge the citizens of this State to
16 educate themselves on the importance of women, not only in our
17 history but also in our future, and to recognize the importance
18 of women in our society today.