HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 03-20-2018 4-b - Women’s History Month Proclamation
ORANGE COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT
Meeting Date: March 20, 2018
Action Agenda
Item No. 4-b
SUBJECT: Women’s History Month Proclamation
DEPARTMENT: County Manager
ATTACHMENT(S):
Proclamation
INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bonnie Hammersley, 245-2300
PURPOSE: To officially proclaim the month of March as “Women’s History Month” in Orange
County.
BACKGROUND: Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981
when Congress authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March
7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week". Over the next five years, Congress continued to approve
joint resolutions designating a week in March as "Women’s History Week”.
In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress designated
the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month”. Between 1988 and 1994, Congress
approved additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of
each year as Women’s History Month. Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama and
Trump have issued a series of annual proclamations designating the month of March as
“Women’s History Month”.
The Department on Aging is celebrating “National Women’s History Month” on Thursday, March
29 with a special performance – Maya Angelou’s Celebration of Women. The 2018 National
Women’s History theme – NEVERTHELESS SHE PERSISTED: Honoring Women Who Fight
All Forms of Discrimination against Women – will be commemorated at the Seymour Center in
Chapel Hill with a special dramatic performance by Diane Faison as Maya Angelou. Faison will
breathe life and wonder into the words of one of America’s greatest poets, Maya Angelou with a
free performance at the Seymour Center on Thursday, March 29 from 2 – 3 p.m.
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact associated with considering the
proclamation.
SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT: The following Orange County Social Justice Goals are applicable
to this item:
• GOAL: FOSTER A COMMUNITY CULTURE THAT REJECTS OPPRESSION AND
INEQUITY
The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race or color;
religious or philosophical beliefs; sex, gender or sexual orientation; national origin or
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ethnic background; age; military service; disability; and familial, residential or economic
status.
• GOAL: ENABLE FULL CIVIC PARTICIPATION
Ensure that Orange County residents are able to engage government through voting and
volunteering by eliminating disparities in participation and barriers to participation.
RECOMMENDATION(S): The Manager recommends the Board adopt the Proclamation and
authorize the Chair to sign.
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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic
contributions to the growth and strength of our County in countless recorded and unrecorded
ways; and
WHEREAS, Orange County women have played and continue to play a critical
economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of the life of the County; and
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders
in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement; 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 other movements, especially the peace
movement, which create a more fair and just society for all; and
WHEREAS, despite these contributions, the role of women in history has been
consistently overlooked and undervalued in the literature, teaching and study of American
history; and
WHEREAS, women constitute a majority of the Orange County labor force working
inside and outside of the home; and
WHEREAS, currently, women do not receive equal pay for equal work;
NOW, THEREFORE, we, the Board of County Commissioners of Orange County, North
Carolina, do hereby proclaim March 2018 as “WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH” in Orange
County and challenge County residents to observe this month with appropriate programs,
ceremonies, and activities.
THIS THE 20th DAY OF MARCH, 2018.
___________________________________
Mark Dorosin, Chair
Orange County Board of Commissioners
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