[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 6773-6774]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 24, 1999

  Ms. MILLENDER-McDONALD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the numerous women of achievement in this country during Women's 
History Month. I believe true leadership has no gender, race, age or 
religion. It consists of dedication, perseverance, hard work, 
compassion, wisdom and a commanding vision for the future.
  Tonight I woudl like to honor two women in particular who have 
mastered all of these traits despite being faced with seemingly 
insurmountable obstacles. As both the Vice Chair of the Women's Caucus 
and an active member of the Congressional Black Caucus, I have worked 
with my colleagues to present two awards to Helen Thomas and Dorothy 
Height during Women's History Month. Since it is important to document 
the remarkable work of women of such achievement Mr. Speaker, I would 
like to share with you their stories.
  Helen Thomas has been the White House bureau chief of United Press 
International (UPI) since 1974. Over the past several decades, Helen 
has covered eight presidents. She is the first female UPI White House 
bureau chief. Prior to that, over the span of 50 years, she has been 
given what she called ``the big plum'' job of getting doughnuts for 
reporters in 1942. She went on to cover exclusively ``female'' subjects 
for UPI's radio wire, which was called United Press at the time. 
However, her big break came when she served as the only print 
journalist accompanying President Nixon when he made his historic trip 
to China in 1972. Thus was the rise of Helen Thomas.
  Helen is considered tough and incisive with a keen ability to pierce 
through issues to find the meaning of events. She is also considered 
warm, open, passionate and opinionated. She has been a self-described 
women's libber since the day she was born and initiated the campaign to 
open the doors of the National Press Club to women, which finally 
occurred when Nikita Krushchev spoke at the Club in 1959--although it 
took another 12 years before women were admitted. In the mid-seventies, 
she became the National Press Club's first female officer; the first 
female member of the 90-year old Grid Iron Club, Washington's most 
exclusive press organization, and in 1993 was elected its president; 
and the first female officer of the White House Correspondents 
Association. She has received numerous awards for her work in 
journalism and in 1992, UPI established an internship program in her 
honor to be awarded annually to a female journalism student.

  At the proud age of 78, she continues to jump from behind bushes near 
the White House jogging track to fire questions at President Clinton 
during his morning run. And Helen is still known for jumping over 
banquet tables to get to a phone before her competitors. At White House 
press conferences, she is inevitably the first correspondent to be 
called on by the President and the last to close with her signature 
statement, ``Thank you, Mr. President.''
  It is with great honor that the Congressional Caucus for Women's 
Issues bestows the Women's Leadership Award to a woman of integrity, 
grit and boundless energy. She serves as a tremendous role model for 
millions of women in America.
  An equally important role model for this country is Dorothy Height. 
Despite reaching the ripe age of 87 years old, Dr. Height is still 
considered one of the nation's most influential and effective women's 
leader. She has her master's degree in social work, and has been 
awarded 23 honorary degrees from various universities, including 
Harvard University. Some of her most impressive achievements include 
her leadership of the YWCA, National Council of Negro Women and the 
Center for Racial Justice.
  During a tragic time of civil unrest, she was the first Black and 
first woman named to deal with the Harlem Riots of 1935 and sat at the 
table with President Johnson during the civil rights movement to 
develop meaningful civil rights legislation. Dr. Height served as a 
vocal and extremely effective leader in the civil rights movement to 
address lynching, desegregate the armed forces, reform the criminal 
justice system and free access to public accommodations. She also was 
the national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority from 1947 to 1956.

[[Page 6774]]

  Today, Dr. Height is still viewed as a dynamic orator who contributes 
invaluable intellectual insight to national discussions on race 
relations, the role of women and a range of civil rights issues. She 
has traveled the world to study other cultures and developed a critical 
understanding of the role of women in Africa, Asia, India and Latin 
America. She has become a living legacy throughout this country and 
abroad.
  I am so honored to join my colleague Barbara Lee in bestowing an 
award on Dr. Height for her unyielding determination to never give up, 
her enthusiastic, can-do approach to solving some of the nation's most 
complex problems, and her astute understanding of the world that can be 
created through equality of opportunity for all of humanity.

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