12-R036

2012 -- S 2065

Enacted 01/17/12

S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

SUPPORTING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NATIONAL WOMEN'S HISTORY MUSEUM

IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

Introduced By: Senators Lanzi, Paiva Weed, Lynch, Crowley, and Sosnowski

Date Introduced: January 17, 2012

     WHEREAS, In 1987, Congress declared March as “Women’s History Month” to

acknowledge the important role women have played in shaping America; and

     WHEREAS, Although women constitute a majority of the nation’s population, their

achievements and contributions are underrepresented in museums and memorials; and

     WHEREAS, In a recent survey of eighteen history books, only 10 percent of the people

identified were women; and

     WHEREAS, In 1999, the President’s Commission on the Celebration of Women in

American History called for a women’s history museum to be established on the National Mall in

Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, The National Women’s History Museum (NWHM), founded in 1996, is a

nonpartisan, nonprofit, educational institution dedicated to preserving, interpreting, and

celebrating the diverse historic contributions of women and fully integrating the heritage of

women into this nation’s history; and

     WHEREAS, The NWHM seeks a site on or close to the National Mall and in close

proximity to the White House and United States Capitol; and

     WHEREAS, The NWHM has identified federally-owned property for sale near the

National Mall; and

     WHEREAS, Legislation is currently pending in Congress seeking authorization for the

NWHM to be able  to purchase this property at fair market value with privately raised funds.  No

federal funds are being requested for the purchase of this land; and

     WHEREAS, There are museums dedicated to flight, postage stamps, buildings, and many

other important people and issues, but not to women, and yet women comprise 51 percent of the

nation’s population; and 

     WHEREAS, The NWHM will showcase the full history of women in the United States

and the contributions they have made and continue to make in the marketplace, arts and sciences,

government, entertainment, education, home, and community; and

     WHEREAS, A coalition of 43 women’s organizations representing 8 million women,

which includes the National Foundation for Women Legislators (NFWL), supports the efforts of

the NWHM to establish a permanent residence on the National Mall, the most prominent location

for museums to be situated in the nation’s capital; now, therefore, be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby respectfully urges the esteemed members of the United States House of Representatives

and the United States Senate to support the NWHM’s efforts to secure a permanent home on or

close to the National Mall for a museum that will highlight the important role women have played

in shaping this great nation; and be further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the National Foundation for Women Legislators

and the entire Rhode Island Congressional Delegation. 

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LC00411

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