6.2. SR 08-17-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Proclamation Designating August 26, 2020, as Women’s Equality Day WHEREAS, on January 10th, 1918, a Constitutional Amendment allowing women's suffrage was passed by the United States House; and WHEREAS, on June 4th, 1919, the United States Senate passed the Nineteenth Amendment and sent it out to the states for ratification; and WHEREAS, on September 8, 1919, Minnesota ratified the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution; and WHEREAS, on August 26, 1919, the Nineteenth Amendment was certified as part of our Constitution, assuring that "the right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex"; and WHEREAS, the 19th Amendment did not guarantee suffrage for all women, including Native Americans who did not gain the right to vote in every state until 1962. For Asian Pacific Islander Americans it was 1952. And many African-American and Latin Americans did not gain their voting rights until passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and 1975; and WHEREAS, Women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our Nation and our community in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and WHEREAS, Women have been leaders, not only in securing their own rights of suffrage and equal opportunity, but also in the abolitionist movement, the emancipation movement, the industrial labor movement, the civil rights movement, and today, in other important movements; and WHEREAS, communities across the state are celebrating the passage and ratification of the 19th Amendment, providing for women's suffrage, to the Constitution of the United States; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, John J. Dietz, Mayor of Elk River, do hereby proclaim Women’s Equality Day and do hereby call upon the people of Elk River to safely observe August 26th, as “Women's Equality Day” with appropriate ceremonies and activities to honor the those who fought for promoting the values of our Republic and women suffrage. We further urge all our residents to use this occasion to reflect on the importance of achieving equal rights and opportunities for women and to dedicate themselves anew to that great goal. For the cause of equal rights and opportunities for women is inseparable from the cause of human dignity and equal justice for all. John J. Dietz, Mayor ATTEST: Tina Allard, City Clerk