[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 43 (Wednesday, March 31, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E496-E497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. KAREN McCARTHY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 31, 2004

  Ms. McCARTHY of Missouri. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor National 
Women's History Month. The National Women's History Project was founded 
in 1980 and is a non-profit educational organization committed to 
recognizing and celebrating the diverse and significant historical 
accomplishments of women. The legacy of others who shaped society 
inspires one's own longings to contribute. For young women, role models 
can inspire their sense of what is possible. Knowledge of women's 
strengths and contributions builds respect and nourishes self esteem.
  During Women's History Month, our nation celebrates the many 
accomplishments of women. Women are leaders in business, government, 
law, science, medicine, the arts, education, and many other fields. As 
bosses, mothers, sisters, daughters, wives and friends, they bring 
compassion and integrity to our work spaces and community settings and 
teach our children the values that make our country great.
  Thousands of outstanding Kansas City women have left their mark on 
our community by blazing new trails; by being the first woman to make a 
significant contribution in the greater metropolitan area. A beloved 
woman in Kansas City, known as the matriarch, is the late Lucille 
Bluford. Always a voice of conscience and reason, a woman of influence 
and great moral character, she began her career in 1930 as a reporter 
for The Kansas City Call. After owner Chester A. Franklin died in 1955, 
Ms. Bluford became managing editor, publisher and the first woman owner 
of a newspaper in the community. Her leadership, guidance and direction 
raised the consciousness of the African American community to the 
struggles of the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s and 70s and rallied 
the readers to call for political action. In 1990, the University of 
Kansas awarded her it's Distinguished Service Citation, the highest 
honor to be bestowed upon a KU graduate for service to humanity. She 
was the second African American student to major in journalism at KU. 
Among her many countless awards, she received an honorary doctorate 
from the University of Missouri, which years earlier denied her 
admission. In 1939, she bravely sued MU, but lost the case.

[[Page E497]]

While she may have lost that battle, her action prompted a series of 
legal challenges that ultimately led to the abolishment of the 
``separate but equal'' doctrine in education.

  Ms. Bluford's career accomplishments opened doors for another female 
entrepreneur in journalism, Clara Reyes, who started Kansas City's 
first bilingual newspaper, Dos Mundos, in 1981 in her basement. She had 
sold real estate to people from different countries who often asked 
where to find bilingual professionals. Reyes took it upon herself to 
fill the void. She did not know much about the publishing world, but 
thought that if she could sell real estate, she could surely sell 
advertising.
  For more than 20 years, Clara Reyes has been a strong voice in the 
Hispanic community who wrote about issues important to Latinos in the 
Greater Kansas City area. Clara Reyes has helped ``Dos Mundos'' grow to 
become one of the leading bilingual newspapers in the Midwest dedicated 
to serving the community through daily news and information.
  Martha W. Gilliland, Ph.D., Chancellor of the University of Missouri-
Kansas City holds a doctorate in environmental engineering/systems 
ecology from the University of Florida. On August 30, 2002, she 
received a prestigious national honor from the Policy Studies 
Organization: ``Top Public Policy Practitioner.''
  Under her leadership, UMKC, has established a progressive and 
ambitious agenda for the urban campus of 14,000 students. Chancellor 
Gilliland and her leadership team are poised to transform UMKC into a 
21st century institution and a national model in scholarships and 
creative activity by attracting and nurturing responsive community 
leaders while providing the resources to achieve the University's 
vision of creating a vibrant environment of learning and campus life 
experience.
  Today, the vision of these Kansas City women: Lucille Bluford, Clara 
Reyes and Martha Gilliland, inspire women in our community to blaze new 
trails and seek their dreams.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring National Women's History 
Month, as we celebrate the many ways women strengthen and enrich 
America. Their lives and work provide guideposts of hope for our future 
and for our children, and remind us all of what the human spirit can 
achieve when our collective eyes are fixed upon helping reach our 
greatest potential. I salute them one and all in honor of National 
Women's History Month.

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