HomeMy WebLinkAbout21-107 RESOLUTION NO. 21-107
A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING AUGUST 26, 2021, AS
"WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY" IN ST.LUCIE COUNTY,FLORIDA
WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie County, Florida, has made the
following determinations:
1. August 26 is Women's Equality Day in the United States, a day to commemorate
the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that gave women the right to vote.
2. The fight for women's rights in the United States began on July 19, 1848, with the
Seneca Falls Convention when over 200 women gathered to discuss the issues and discrimination
that women faced based on their gender. They believed they deserved to be equal to men
economically, legally, socially, and representatively.
3. In 1869, Susan B. Anthony founded the National Woman Suffrage Association, but
it wasn't until 1886 that they got Congress to consider the Amendment to give women the right
to vote, which was denied. It took 34 more years before the Suffragettes got the Amendment to
Congress again, aided by some new States that had entered the Union and had equal rights for
women in their own Constitution. Women took to the streets to protest for their rights and in
May 1919, the majority of the U.S. Congress adopted the 19th Amendment, also known as the
'Susan B. Anthony Amendment,' giving women the right to vote. The amendment only became
official on August 2, 1920,when Bainbridge Colby,the Secretary of State,signed the proclamation
that gave women in the United States the right to vote.
4. In 1973, the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as "Women's Equality Day." The
date was selected to commemorate the 1920 certification of the 19th Amendment to the
Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful
civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world's first
women's rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York. The observance of Women's Equality Day
not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women's
continuing efforts toward full equality.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of St. Lucie
County, Florida that this Board does hereby proclaim August 26, 2021, as "WOMEN'S EQUALITY
DAY" in St. Lucie County, Florida and encourage all residents to show their support for all women
by joining the many organizations that are continuing the fight for equal rights for women.
PASSED AND DULY ADOPTED this 17th day of August 2021.
ATTEST: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
ST LUCIE COUNTY FLO IDA
`A 1 Mk Q\SA. -
BY: ✓l'
DEPUTY CLERK CHAIR
APPROVE A T M & CORRECTNESS:
COUNTY ORNEY