[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 30 (Thursday, March 17, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 17, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                        OUTSTANDING TEXAS WOMAN

  (Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I stand before this 
body in praise of a great Texas woman, known around the Nation as the 
mother of the equal rights amendment.
  Over the past 50 years, Hermine Tobolowsky has devoted much of her 
life to improving the legal, social, and economic fate of women in 
Texas, by lobbying the former nearly all-male State legislature to 
repeal laws which as recently as 1972, discriminated against women in 
ways that are simply unimaginable for most of us.
  Before 1971, Texas had the dubious distinction of holding the 
Nation's record for laws discriminating against married women.
  For example, women were prohibited from buying stocks, even with 
their own money, without the written consent of their husbands; women 
were prohibited from filing lawsuits without including their husbands--
of course, the reverse was not the case; and women were not eligible 
for overtime pay because Texas had a State law which prohibited women 
from working for more than 9 hours a day at an hourly wage.
  Because of the unwielding campaigns waged by this great Texan, Texas 
ratified the equal rights amendment in 1972. As my colleagues can 
attest, the equal rights amendment struggle spanned two decades, and 
though it may have been defeated by the law, it remains alive in the 
spirits of many. Its theme was ``Oh, thank heaven for amendment 7.''
  My fondest saying of Hermine Tobolowsky is, ``You can delay justice, 
but you cannot deny it.''
  Today, Hermine remains committed to the principle that women must use 
their enormous economic power to wage the battle for equality for all 
women.
  Thus, to this day, she refuses to travel to any of the 15 States that 
failed to ratify the equal rights amendment, even though it means she 
must forego one of the greatest pleasures--playing the slot machines in 
Nevada, and betting on horse races in Louisiana.
  As we prepare to celebrate National Womens History Week, I consider 
few individuals more deserving of being honored by this body than 
Hermine Tobolowsky, known to all as the mother of the equal rights 
amendment.
  In 1971, the Texas State Legislature ratified the Federal equal 
rights amendment, a feat that was due in great part to the tireless 
efforts of Hermine Tobolowsky. In November 1972, the voters approved 
the amendment at the polls.
  Before that time, Texas had the dubious distinction of holding the 
Nation's record for laws discriminating against women, especially 
married women.
  I say today, in honor of Hermine Tobolowsky, thank you. We cannot 
celebrate this month without thinking of the name Hermine Tobolowsky.

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