HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2020.08.20 - 33600REQUESTING SUSPENSION
OF THE BOARD RULES FOR
IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION
UNDER NEW BUSINESS
MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #20337
BY: Commissioners Marcia Gershenson, District #13, Angela Powell, District #10; Thomas Kuhn, District
#11
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — COMMEMORATION OF CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE
19TH AMENDMENT RATIFICATION — WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS August 26, 2020 will mark the 100th anniversary on the passage of the 19th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, also known as the National Suffrage Amendment, guaranteeing women the right to vote;
and
WHEREAS more than 26 million women had their citizenship affirmed and gained a mechanism to empower
themselves, their families, and their communities; and
WHEREAS prior to that, state laws prohibited women from owning and inheriting property, signing
contracts, serving on juries, and voting in elections; and
WHEREAS job opportunities for the women who had to work outside the home were limited to the service
industry, and wages were extremely low; and
WHEREAS furthermore, women were encouraged to marry as a way of ensuring economic security; and
WHEREAS over 100 years ago, women around the United States started to protest, picket and were
imprisoned while attempting to secure their constitutional right to vote; and
WHEREAS although black women are less well -remembered, they played a significant role in getting the
19'h Amendment passed; and
WHEREAS since the first wave of the suffrage movement, black women continually advocated not just for
black women's voting rights, but for civil rights for the entire African American community; and
WHEREAS in spite of their hard work, for many years, the contributions of black suffragists were
marginalized or flatly ignored; and
WHEREAS women aren't done fighting for equal rights. The wage gap between men and women still
impacts women's economic power, and gender-based discrimination still plagues workplaces and business
transactions; and
WHEREAS women consistently earn less than men —women of all races earned, on average, just 82 cents
for every $1 earned by men of all races, according to the most recent Census Bureau data from 2018; and
WHEREAS the same Census Bureau data shows that white women earn 79 cents, black women earn 62
cents, Hispanic and Latino women earn 54 cents, Asian women earn 90 cents and American Indian and
Alaska Native women earn 57 cents for every $1 earned by men of all races; and
WHEREAS as a reminder of the struggles of the past, present, and future, Congress designated August 26
as Women's Equality Day in 1971; and
WHEREAS Oakland County women took an active role in the women's suffrage movement including the
formation of the Oakland County Equal Suffrage Association in 1912; and
WHEREAS the Celebration of Women's Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee, established by Miscellaneous
Resolution #19044, honors this important milestone in our nation's history; and
WHEREAS the Committee, throughout the years 2019 and 2020, invited Oakland County residents to learn
more about the history of the women's suffrage movement through a variety of impactful programs and
events; and
WHEREAS one of the events hosted by the Ad Hoc Committee was the Special Speaking Series with
Michelle Duster, the great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells, who was a prominent African American journalist,
abolitionist and feminist during the late 19th and early 201h centuries.
WHEREAS another event hosted by the Ad Hoc Committee was the "I Voted" sticker contest for Oakland
County students, grades 6-12, where two winning designs were chosen and printed for the 2020 March and
August primary elections in Oakland County.
WHEREAS the Ad Hoc Committee also hosted an "Iron Jawed Angels" film screening as well as a virtual
tour at the Detroit Institute of Arts called "Suffragette Tours: Changing Roles of Women in America"; and
WHEREAS historical markers play an important role in local historic preservation by serving a dual purpose
— educating the public and fostering historic tourism; and
WHEREAS this historic centennial offers an unparalleled opportunity to commemorate a milestone of
democracy and to explore its relevance to the issues of equal rights.
WHEREAS the Ad Hoc Committee plans to continue to promote such an important movement by placing a
historical marker on the Oakland County campus; and
WHEREAS a permanent historical marker will be provided free of charge to Oakland County by the
Pomeroy Foundation, and language will be agreed upon by the Foundation and the Celebration of Women's
Suffrage Ad Hoc Committee; and _
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners hereby
commemorates the centennial anniversary of the 19th amendment ratification —Women's Equality Day.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, in recognition of the
centennial of the 19th Amendment, honors Oakland County women from the original suffrage movement
as well as our 20th and 21st centurywomen who have continued the struggle to ensure voting rights for all.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners will place a historical
marker on the Oakland County campus for all future generations to understand the significance of the
Oakland County women's involvement in the national women's suffrage movement.
Chairperson, I mov the adoption of the foregoing resolution.
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Commissioner Michael Spisz Commissioner Gary (McGillivray /
Distri t#3 7Dc020
Commissione hetley'Taub Commissioner*Iqman?'�
District#12 Distri
Commissioner Thomas Middleton
Distr;�t
P:#4
6 s
Commissio_nfir Penny Luebs
District 16
Commissione whael G' gell
District 1
Commissioner Adam Kochen fer
Dist
ct #15
Commissioner Tom Kuhn
District #11
Commissioner Gweh Markham
i nct #9
Commissioner Kristen Nelson
Dis Ft,15
Comone ancy Quarles
District #17
Commissioner ack
District #18
Commission ilip Weipert
District #8
Commissioner NlIarcia Gershenson
Distric
Co issioner Janet J c� kson
DistrjT #21
/ sioner Eileen K(Ywall
l Di iclt^#6
4 w441� (2 . 11" �q!"�
Cothmissioner Christine Long (J
District #7
Commissioner William Miller
Di net
Com inner oy �ell
Di ict���l
Commissioner Dyyllayvviidd Woodward
District #19
Commissioner
District #
Resolution #20337
August 20, 2020
Moved by Gershenson_ seconded by Zack to suspend the rules and vote on Miscellaneous Resolution_
#20337 — Board of Commissioners — Commemoration of Centennial Anniversary of the 191h Amendment
Ratification — Women's Equality Day.
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the motion to suspend the rules and vote on Miscellaneous
Resolution #20337 — Board of Commissioners — Commemoration of Centennial Anniversary of the 191h
Amendment Ratification — Women's Equality Day carried.
Moved by Gershenson seconded by Kowall the resolution be adopted
Discussion followed.
Vote on resolution.
AYES: Luebs, Markham, McGillivray, Middleton, Miller, Nelson, Powell, Quarles, Spisz, Taub,
Weipert, Woodward, Zack, Gershenson, Gingell, Hoffman, Jackson, Kowall, Kuhn, Long. (20)
NAYS: None. (0)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the resolution was adopted.
Moved by Long seconded by Weipert to amend the resolution to add all Commissioners as co-sponsors.
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the amendment to add all Commissioners as co-sponsors of the
resolution carried.
tom- C L
I HEREBY APPROVE THIS RESOLUTION
CHIEF DEPUTY COUNTY EXECUTIVE
ACTING PURSUANT TO MCL 45.559A (7)
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and
accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on August20, 2020,
with the original record thereof now remaining in my office.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the Circuit Court at Pontiac,
Michigan this 201h day of August, 2020.
Lisa Brown,
� akl�County