[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 418 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
S. RES. 418

       Commemorating the life of the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 22, 2010

Mr. Casey submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Commemorating the life of the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker.

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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (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.
                                 <all>