[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 47 (Thursday, March 19, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H1797-H1798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              WOMEN'S AND THE VIRGIN ISLANDS HISTORY MONTH

  (Ms. PLASKETT asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, every year during the month of March, we 
celebrate the contributions to events in history and modern society by 
women. We call it Women's History Month, but in my district, in the 
U.S. Virgin Islands, the month of March is also commemorated as Virgin 
Islands History Month.
  So, in keeping with both customs, I would like to take the time to 
recognize a few Virgin Islanders who have broken the glass ceiling for 
women in the upper echelons of law in the territory and, indeed, in the 
United States, and who inspired generations of young women to do the 
same:
  The Honorable Eileen Ramona Peterson, who became the first female 
judge in the U.S. Virgin Islands in 1971; the Honorable J'ada Finch-
Sheen, who later became the first female sworn in

[[Page H1798]]

as attorney general of the Virgin Islands; and the Honorable Wilma 
Lewis, who, among a long list of noteworthy accomplishments, was the 
first African American woman to serve as inspector general to the U.S. 
Department of the Interior and, later, as the U.S. attorney for the 
District of Columbia. Judge Lewis currently serves as the chief judge 
of the District Court of the Virgin Islands.
  Our fight for law and justice and equality comes from our history, 
and that fight has often been led by women, women such as Queen Mary 
Thomas, who, along with three other women, led a revolt in the streets 
of St. Croix to protest unfair labor wages and deplorable working 
conditions in 1878.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to recognize these women because their work and 
their contributions have allowed many Virgin Islands women to ascend 
through the glass ceiling. Their contributions made it possible for a 
young girl from the Virgin Islands--myself--to become a New York 
assistant district attorney, to be at the Justice Department and to 
later serve as the fifth-elected Delegate to Congress from the U.S. 
Virgin Islands.
  To that end, Mr. Speaker, it troubles me to see the political 
gamesmanship that is delaying the confirmation of Loretta Lynch as the 
next Attorney General of the United States. By all accounts, she is 
highly qualified and regarded, and would make a great Attorney General. 
I am urging my colleagues in the Senate Chamber to bring Ms. Lynch's 
confirmation to a vote. Place your objections on the record.

                          ____________________