[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 143 (Thursday, November 2, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2064]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO ROXCY BOLTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, November 2, 2000

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay a special 
tribute to Florida's pioneer feminist, a great woman, and a friend, Ms. 
Roxcy Bolton. There are not many people around like Roxcy, and I am so 
proud to recognize her many accomplishments.
  She is a trail blazer, a persistent advocate, a remarkable woman. She 
put the spotlight on women, showcased their problems, and encouraged 
other women to take action and expand the fight for equal rights. She 
has proven time and again that one person can make a difference.
  Roxcy O'Neal Bolton was born in 1926 in Mississippi. She became a 
businesswoman and was active in community and political organizations. 
She married Commander David Bolton U.S.N. who was later president of 
Men for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
  In 1966, Bolton helped form Florida's National Organization for 
Women, serving as charter president of the Miami Chapter and National 
Vice President in 1969.
  In 1972, she founded Women in Distress, a non-profit agency providing 
emergency housing, rescue service and multi-discipline assistance to 
women in situations of personal crisis. It was the first women's rescue 
shelter in Florida.
  In 1974 she was instrumental in establishing the Rape Treatment 
Center, the first of its kind at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. 
That same year, Bolton organized Florida's first Crime Watch program to 
help stem crime against women.
  She also founded the Women's Park in Miami and has been the recipient 
of numerous awards relating to her work in women's rights. In 1984, she 
was inducted into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame.
  Less trumpeted are her countless acts of compassion: for the woman 
about to be replaced in her job by someone younger and better 
connected; for the man who is demoted from his city job because he 
cannot read; for the prostitute working to earn her high school 
equivalency diploma; for the woman who sleeps and eventually dies on 
the steps of a downtown church.
  It is no wonder why any letter addressed simply Roxcy, Coral Gables, 
Fla. arrives in due course at Bolton's house.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Bolton has been called, and rightly so, South 
Florida's ``Mother of Feminism''. I strongly believe that my state of 
Florida is a much better place for women . . . and all people . . . 
because of Roxcy Bolton. On behalf of the people of the 17th 
Congressional District, I salute her.

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