[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

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                           HON. ALAN GRAYSON

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 30, 2009

  Mr. GRAYSON. Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Women's History 
Month.
  As March comes to a close, I would like to commemorate Women's 
History Month on the House Floor by highlighting the accomplishments of 
the many courageous women who, throughout history, have worked to 
improve the lives of all of the citizens of our great nation.
  Madam Speaker, I wish to recognize those women whose hard work and 
dedication have directly impacted the state of Florida, and to commend 
them for their accomplishments. I would also like to recognize the 
Florida Women's Hall of Fame, whose mission it is to highlight and 
preserve the legacies of such women.
  A native Floridian, Representative Carrie Meek paved the way for both 
women and African Americans in Florida by serving in the state House 
from 1979 to 1982. She was then elected as the first African-American 
woman in the State Senate, and in 1992 she went on to become the first 
black woman elected to Congress from Florida.
  A champion of gender and racial equality throughout her career, 
Representative Meek sponsored legislation that created the Florida 
Commission on the Status of Women, which is tasked with identifying and 
studying issues that affect women. The Commission also maintains and 
facilitates the permanent Florida Women's Hall of Fame display, in the 
State Capitol.
  Madam Speaker, another Florida-born trailblazer is former U.S. 
Attorney General Janet Reno. Ms. Reno has achieved many firsts, and 
done much for women in her storied career.
  She was named staff director of the Judiciary Committee of the 
Florida House of Representatives in 1971, and is credited with helping 
to reform the Florida court system during her time there. In 1978, she 
was appointed as the first female Dade County State Attorney, a 
position to which she was elected six consecutive times. During her 
tenure as State Attorney, she developed programs for drug courts and 
domestic violence.
  Following her time serving the State of Florida and as a result of 
her leadership in the area of criminal justice, Janet Reno was 
appointed the first female Attorney General of the United States in 
1993--a position she held until 2001.
  Madam Speaker, another pioneering woman with Florida roots is Ms. 
Zora Neal Hurston.
  In the 1930s anthropologist, folklorist, and writer Zora Neale 
Hurston collected information on Florida folk life while working for 
the WPA's Federal Writers Project. As a result of her extensive 
anthropological research, her writings have become invaluable sources 
on African American life during the Harlem Renaissance. In all, Hurston 
wrote four novels and more than 50 published short stories, plays, and 
essays, and she is best known for her 1937 novel ``Their Eyes Were 
Watching God.''
  Madam Speaker, I would also like to recognize Dr. Gladys Pumariega 
Soler. Dr. Soler was born in Cuba in 1930 and earned a medical degree 
from Havana University in 1955. In 1961, Dr. Soler moved to the United 
States and devoted her career to caring for indigent children in 
Jacksonville, Florida. Because of her role as director of the Pediatric 
Clinic at the University Medical Center from 1964 to 1992, for over 25 
years Dr. Soler was widely known as ``the Pediatrician.''
  These women have dedicated their lives to improving the status of 
women, and have encouraged people of all genders, races, and ages to 
reach higher and dream bigger.
  As a son, husband, and father, it is a great honor and privilege for 
me to stand before you and recognize just a few of the many great women 
throughout history that have contributed their lives to better the 
lives not only of their peers, but of future generations, as well.
  It is important that we continue to honor such women, not just during 
Women's History Month, but throughout the year, because they have done 
so much to improve the lives of women and the United States of America.

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