[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 85 (Tuesday, May 21, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E648]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       COMMEMORATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 19TH AMENDMENT

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                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 21, 2019

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 
centennial of the 19th amendment.
  Such an achievement as women's suffrage, long overdue, was not the 
result of one grand swoop of action. It took a million little steps 
from women across the country. A million little steps from women who 
wore the sash or carried the torch in their own way, a million little 
steps from those who marched in the streets or stood up for their place 
in the direction of our country.
  Let us follow their example today.
  I am reminded of my mother. In 1933, at the age of 20, she wrote a 
charge for women. It was just over a decade after the 19th amendment. 
She wrote, and I quote:
  ``It is not my intention to be critical, rather my motive in writing 
this article is to encourage the female members of this organization to 
take a more active part in its affairs. We are not living in the middle 
ages when a woman's part in life was merely to serve her master in her 
home, but we have gradually taken our place in every phase of human 
endeavor, and even in the here-to-fore stronghold of the male sex: 
politics.
  ``I have noticed that the girls, unlike the men, are timid in 
asserting themselves, and many a good idea is lost, having been 
suppressed by its creator. Come on girls, let's make ourselves heard.''
  It will take another million little steps to move this cou--ntry 
forward in all the ways it must. On health care, on reproductive 
rights, on equal pay, on education, and more. So, come on girls, let us 
make ourselves heard.

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