[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 49 (Wednesday, March 20, 2024)]
[House]
[Page H1247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     VIRGIN ISLANDS' WOMEN FIGHTERS

  (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, well before equality for women was 
discussed in the U.S. mainland, the Virgin Islands have lauded, 
uplifted, and seen women fighters and leaders.
  All Virgin Islands' children know the stories of our queens, but our 
girls have a wealth of women who have sacrificed their time, privacy, 
and professions in elected leadership.
  Most recently, women like my soul sisters Alicia Barnes and Diane 
Capehart; sorors Janette Millin Young and Allison DeGazon; Marise 
James; Donna Frett-Gregory; Genevieve Whitaker; Janelle Sarauw; Carla 
Joseph; Alma Heyliger; our recently departed Alicia ``Chucky'' Hansen; 
our first women elected in 1954: Lucinda Millin and Ruby Rouss; local 
Senate's first female president Cleone Creque in 1977, who won the 
first territorial-wide race; and, of course, Donna Christensen, my 
predecessor, the first female physician to serve in Congress; Lorraine 
Berry, Carol Burke; Carmen Wesselhoft; Lilliana Belardo; Anne Golden; 
and Norma Pickard. The list goes on of strong, fervent, and resilient 
women who shape our path and ignite our future.
  They are VI strong.

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