[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 56 (Thursday, April 22, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E752-E753]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




TRIBUTE TO AN UNCOMMON LEGACY FOUNDATION'S FIFTH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF 
                                 WOMEN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 1999

  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues in the 
House of Representatives to join me in a special tribute to An Uncommon 
Legacy Foundation, Inc. (``Legacy''). On Saturday, April 24, 1999, 
Legacy will host its Fifth Annual Celebration of Women at the home of 
Hilary Rosen and Elizabeth Birch. At the event, Legacy will honor 
Sheila Alexander-Reid, founder of Women in the Life, Inc. and publisher 
of Women in the Life Magazine. Legacy will also present grants to the 
Lesbian Health and Wellness Network (``LHWN'') and After Stonewall and 
scholarships to three outstanding students: Katie Batza, Amanda M. 
Gunn, and Suzanne Degges White.
  An Uncommon Legacy Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit foundation 
dedicated to enhancing the visibility, strength, and vitality of the 
lesbian community. Legacy invests in the community by awarding 
scholarships to students with leadership potential and by awarding 
grants to fund projects and organizations that contribute to the 
lesbian community's health, education, and culture.
  This year, Legacy will honor Sheila Alexander-Reid, who has made it 
her mission to empower lesbians of all colors. Women in the Life, Inc. 
is an events management company based in Washington, D.C., and it was 
honored last year with a prestigious grant from Avon and the Mautner 
Project to promote breast cancer awareness in the black lesbian 
community. Legacy will also award grants to the Lesbian Health and 
Wellness Network, a multi-disciplinary coalition of over 125 lesbian 
and lesbian competent providers serving the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. 
area. This grant will enable LHWN to improve access to health care for 
women in the lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities. Legacy 
will also award a grant to After Stonewall, a 90-minute documentary 
airing nationally on PBS on June 23, 1999. This important documentary 
chronicles the lesbian and gay experience since the 1969 Stonewall 
riots--the historic moment 30 years ago which gave birth to the modern 
gay and lesbian civil rights movement. Finally, Legacy will award 
scholarships to three outstanding students: Katie Batza, who attends

[[Page E753]]

Johns Hopkins University as an undergraduate; Amanda M. Gunn who is 
pursuing her doctorate at the University of North Carolina at 
Greensboro; and, Suzanne Degges White who is pursuing her masters also 
at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
  An Uncommon Legacy Foundation 1999 scholarship recipients are as 
follows:
  Katie Batza is pursuing a bachelor's degree in history at John 
Hopkins University. At the age of 15, Katie helped start YouthPride, an 
Atlanta-based support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender 
youth, which has, in less than five years, served over one thousand 
people.
  Amanda M. Gunn is pursuing her doctorate in cultural studies through 
the Department of Education at the University of North Carolina/
Greensboro (UNCG). She will be presenting her thesis, Lesbian Passing: 
Identity Construction as a Strategy for Survival in a Perceived Hostile 
Work Environment, at the Eastern Communication Association and UNCG 
Women's Studies luncheon.
  Suzanne Degges White is a first-year masters student in the 
Counseling and Counselor Education program at the University of North 
Carolina/Greensboro (UNCG). She is enrolled in the MS/PHD track in 
community counseling at UNCG. Suzanne was instrumental in obtaining a 
state charter for the North Carolina Association for Gay, Lesbian, 
Bisexual Issues in Counseling, a division of the North Carolina 
Counseling Association.
  Mr. Speaker, the Annual Celebration of Women in one of Legacy's most 
important and widely attended events. The generous contributions of the 
women in this community who actively support An Uncommon Legacy 
Foundation make the work vital to the lesbian community possible and 
represents a true investment in the future leaders of our great 
country. I ask the House to join me in expressing our gratitude to An 
Uncommon Legacy Foundation, its national co-chair, Andrea Sharrin, 
Board member, Mary Snider--both of whom I am proud to say are members 
of our D.C. family; and the entire national Board for their leadership 
and support to women across this nation.

                          ____________________