House Honors Activist C. DeLores Tucker

On May 11, the House passed, by voice vote, a resolution honoring the life of women’s rights activist C. DeLores Tucker (H. Res. 1094).

Sponsored by Rep. Diane Watson (D-CA), the resolution contains a number of findings, including:

• The late Cynthia DeLores Tucker dedicated her life to eliminating racial barriers by championing civil rights and rights of women in the United States;
• In 1965, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, C. DeLores Tucker participated in the White House Conference on Civil Rights and marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in support of the 1965 Voting Rights Act;
• In January 1971, while still primarily focused on efforts to gain equality for all, C. DeLores Tucker was named secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania…making her the first female African American secretary of a state in the nation;
• Under the leadership of C. DeLores Tucker, Pennsylvania became one of the first states to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, lower the voting age from 21 to 18, and institute voter registration through mail;
• In 1984, C. DeLores Tucker founded the National Political Congress of Black Women, now known as the National Congress of Black Women, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the educational, political, economic, and cultural development of African American women and their families; and
• As a student of history, C. DeLores Tucker led the successful campaign to have a bust of the pioneering activist and suffragist Sojourner Truth installed in the United States Capitol, along with other suffragette leaders.

The resolution “salutes the lasting legacy of the achievements of C. DeLores Tucker and encourages the continued pursuit of the vision of C. DeLores Tucker to eliminate racial and gender prejudice from all corners of our society.”