Whereas the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker dedicated her life
to eliminating racial barriers by championing civil rights and rights of women
in the United States;
Whereas, having grown up in Philadelphia during the Great
Depression, C. DeLores Tucker overcame a childhood marked by economic hardship
and segregation;
Whereas, having personally experienced the effects of
racism, C. DeLores Tucker first became active in the postwar civil rights
movement when she worked to register African-American voters during the 1950
Philadelphia mayoral campaign;
Whereas C. DeLores Tucker became active in local politics,
developed her skills as an accomplished fund raiser and public speaker, and
quickly became the first African-American and first woman to serve on the
Philadelphia Zoning Board;
Whereas in 1965, in the midst of the Civil Rights
Movement, C. DeLores Tucker participated in the White House Conference on Civil
Rights and marched from Selma to Montgomery with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., in support of the 1965 Voting Rights Bill, which was later signed into law
by President Lyndon Johnson;
Whereas in January 1971, while still primarily focused on
efforts to gain equality for all, C. DeLores Tucker was named Secretary of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania by then-Governor Milton Shapp, making her the
first female African-American Secretary of a State in the Nation;
Whereas, under the leadership of C. DeLores Tucker as
Secretary of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania became one of the first States to
pass the Equal Rights Amendment, lower the voting age from 21 to 18, and
institute voter registration through mail;
Whereas, after leaving her position in Pennsylvania State
government, C. DeLores Tucker became the first African-American to serve as
president of the National Federation of Democratic Women;
Whereas in 1984, C. DeLores Tucker founded the National
Political Congress of Black Women, now known as the National Congress of Black
Women, a non-profit organization dedicated to the educational, political,
economic, and cultural development of African-American Women and their
families;
Whereas in 1983, C. DeLores Tucker founded the
Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Non-Violence and, in 1986,
the Bethune-DuBois Institute, both of which are dedicated to promoting the
cultural and educational development of African-American youth and young
professionals;
Whereas C. DeLores Tucker served as a member of the Board
of Trustees of the NAACP and numerous other boards, including the Points of
Light Foundation and Delaware Valley College;
Whereas, in the later phase of her life, C. DeLores Tucker
publicly criticized gangster rap music, arguing that such music denigrated
women and promoted violence and drug use;
Whereas, as a student of history, C. DeLores Tucker led
the successful campaign to have a bust of the pioneering activist and
suffragist Sojourner Truth installed in the United States Capitol, along with
other suffragette leaders;
Whereas C. DeLores Tucker received more than 400 honors
and awards during her lifetime, including the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award,
the Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Service Award, and the Philadelphia
Urban League Whitney Young Award, and honorary Doctor of Law degrees from
Morris College and Villa Maria College; and
Whereas the work of C. DeLores Tucker as crusader for
civil rights and rights of women, through grace, dignity, and purpose has
helped transform the perception of race and gender in the United States: Now,
therefore, be it
That the House of
Representatives—
(1)commemorates the
life of the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker;
(2)salutes the
lasting legacy of the achievements of C. DeLores Tucker; and
(3)encourages the
continued pursuit of the vision of C. DeLores Tucker to eliminate racial and
gender prejudice from all corners of our society.