[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 72 (Thursday, May 13, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATING THE LIFE OF CYNTHIA DeLORES TUCKER

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 11, 2010

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1094, 
which honors the tremendous accomplishments of the late Cynthia Delores 
Tucker. Ms. Tucker dedicated her life to advancing the interests of 
women and minorities in the United States. Raised in Philadelphia 
during the Great Depression, Ms. Tucker overcame great hardships to 
become one of our Nation's leaders in both the Civil Rights Movement 
and the fight for women's rights. After a life full of achievements and 
milestones, Ms. Tucker passed away in 2005 at the age of 78. We owe our 
national gratitude to Ms. Tucker, an American hero who made the United 
States a more fair and tolerant country.
  I thank Chairman Conyers for his leadership in bringing this bill to 
the floor. I also thank the sponsor of this legislation, Congresswoman 
Watson, for her commitment to ensuring that the legacy of Cynthia 
Delores Tucker always shines as a beacon of social progress.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Tucker became politically active in 1950, when she 
worked to register African American voters during Philadelphia's 
mayoral campaign. She went on to play a central role in the Civil 
Rights Movement and marched with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 
from Selma to Montgomery in support of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 
In January of 1971, Governor Milton Shapp appointed Ms. Tucker as 
Pennsylvania's secretary of state, making her the first African 
American female secretary of state in the country. While serving as 
secretary of state, Ms. Tucker was a leader in the successful effort to 
add an Equal Rights Amendment to Pennsylvania's State constitution, 
guaranteeing equal rights for women under State law. She also oversaw 
the lowering of the Pennsylvania voting age from 21 to 18 years old.
  In 1984, Ms. Tucker founded the National Political Congress of Black 
Women, an organization dedicated to supporting the interests and well-
being of African American women and their families. Ms. Tucker was also 
the first African American president of the National Federation of 
Democratic Women and founded the Philadelphia Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Association for Non-Violence. Additionally, she founded the Bethune-
Dubois Institute in an effort to promote the cultural and educational 
development of African American youth.
  In her later years, Ms. Tucker spearheaded a campaign against 
gangster rap music containing lyrics glamorizing criminal lifestyles 
and disrespect of women. In this effort to combat the negativity in 
gangster rap music, Ms. Tucker initiated a boycott of companies that 
produced such music and spoke out in objection to the NAACP honoring 
rapper Tupac Shakur with its Image Award.
  William Tucker, Ms. Tucker's husband of more than forty years, once 
described her as ``one of the most fearless individuals I have ever 
known. She will take on anyone, anything, if that is what she thinks is 
right. . . . I tell her there are times you have to compromise, but she 
is not one who will readily entertain the idea of compromise about 
anything.'' It was this dedication to social progress and unwillingness 
to settle for anything short of equality for all that makes Ms. Tucker 
a national hero.
  I salute the dedication and resilience that characterized Ms. 
Tucker's work throughout her life. I am truly grateful for her efforts 
to help women and minorities achieve equality and justice.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H. Res. 1094.

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