[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 89 (Tuesday, June 10, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H5195]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING KAREN DeCROW

  (Mr. MAFFEI asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. MAFFEI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Karen DeCrow, a 
constituent of mine who passed away last Friday at the age of 76. Karen 
DeCrow was a trailblazer who fought tirelessly for women's equality and 
justice for all.
  Among her many accomplishments, Karen was a civil rights lawyer, a 
columnist for the Syracuse Post Standard, and a founder and president 
of the National Organization for Women, also known as NOW. She was the 
first woman to run for mayor in a major city in New York and was the 
only woman in her graduating class at Syracuse University College of 
Law.
  Karen championed the Equal Rights Amendment, which would have made 
discrimination against women unconstitutional; and she led the fight 
against gender discrimination in workplaces, educational institutions, 
and sports.
  I had the privilege of working with Karen as she remained active in 
NOW, serving as the vice president of the Greater Syracuse chapter up 
until her passing.
  Mr. Speaker, Eleanor Roosevelt was remembered as having lived by the 
phrase:

       It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

  For those of us who strive for women's equality, Karen DeCrow lit a 
bonfire.

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