Senate Resolution No. 946

BY: Senator FLANAGAN

COMMEMORATING the induction of three new inductees
in the New York State Senate's Historical Women of
Distinction 2017 exhibit

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to acknowledge and
celebrate individuals and events of historic significance which add
vitality, sensitivity, understanding and inspiration to the diversity
and value of the people of this great Empire State; and

WHEREAS, Women of every economic, ethnic and religious background
have made significant contributions that are reflected in our cultural,
social, educational, industrial and economic diversity, and have
contributed in many ways, including as writers, educators, scientists,
heads of state, politicians, civil rights crusaders, artists,
entertainers, businesswomen, military personnel, aviators,
entrepreneurs, philanthropists, health professionals, engineers,
religious leaders, judges, lawyers, law enforcement personnel, athletes,
mothers, nurturers and the building blocks of our communities; and

WHEREAS, It is the purpose of this Legislative Body to induct three
new honorees for the year 2017: suffragist and legislator Ida B. Sammis
(1865-1943) of Long Island; social reformer Inez Milholland Boissevain
(1886-1916) of Poughkeepsie and the North Country; lawyer and federal
judge Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) of New York City; and

WHEREAS, Women who have become part of New York's lasting heritage
by fighting against stereotypes, prejudice and seemingly insurmountable
obstacles, include: Sojourner Truth (1797-1883), former slave and famous
activist; Harriet Tubman (1820-1913), best-known "conductor" of the
Underground Railroad and promoter of black education and women's rights;
suffragettes Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
(1815-1902); world renowned folk artist Grandma Moses (1860-1961); famed
reporter Nellie Bly (1867-1922); Sybil Ludington (1761-1839), known as
the "female Paul Revere"; Barbara McClintock (1901-1992), Nobel
Prize-winning genetic scientist; and "First Lady of the World," Eleanor
Roosevelt (1884-1962); and

WHEREAS, New York State has been, and continues to be, the home to
many distinguished women who have made their mark in history as the
first in their field to succeed; representative of these "firsts" are
contributions by women such as: Lady Deborah Moody (1586-1659), first
woman grantee for land ownership in the New World; Elizabeth Blackwell
(1821-1910), first female physician; America's first trained nurse Linda
Richards (1841-1930); Emma Willard (1787-1870), founder of the first
endowed institution of education for women; hairdressing entrepreneur
Madam C.J. Walker (1867-1919), Harlem leader and first self-made female
millionaire in the U.S.; Buffalonian Louise Blanchard Bethune
(1856-1913), first professional female architect in the Nation; Lucille
Ball (1911-1989), actor and president of Desilu Productions, the first
woman to lead a major Hollywood production company; Katharine Bement
Davis (1860-1935), New York City Correction Commissioner, first woman to
head a major City agency; Winifred Edgerton Merrill (1862-1951), the
first American woman to receive a Ph.D. in Mathematics; Dr. Mary Edwards

Walker (1832-1919), the first and only woman to be presented with the
Congressional Medal of Honor; and Belva Lockwood (1830-1917), the first
woman to practice law before the United States Supreme Court; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body recognizes that New York State is the
home to countless women who are strong and colorful threads, vital to
the fabric of our rich heritage, who have contributed, and continue to
add to the advancement of our culture through their traditional and
non-traditional roles in society; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the induction of three new inductees into the New York State
Senate's Historical Women of Distinction 2017 exhibit; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the National Women's Hall of Fame and the New York State
Division for Women.