HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - PROCLAMATION - 08/18/2020 - PROCLAMATION DECLARING AUGUST 26, 2020 AS WOMEN'SPROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, August 26, 2020, marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment
to the United States Constitution, granting most women the right to vote by declaring that U.S. citizens' right
to vote shall not be denied or abridged "on account of sex"; and
WHEREAS, this centennial offers the City the opportunity to celebrate this important American
milestone, being one of the largest expansions of democracy in the history of our country; and Colorado played
a special role in history being one of the first states to enact women's voting rights by popular referendum in
1893, some 27 years before women voted nationally; and
WHEREAS, the City supports nationwide events honoring this centennial, including those of local
civic groups such as the Northern Colorado Chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Larimer
County League of Women Voters, activities acknowledging decades of work led by dedicated voting rights
leaders such as Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Mary Church Terrell, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Susan B.
Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Carrie Chapman Catt; and
WHEREAS, the City reaffirms the voting rights leaders’ commitment to equal enfranchisement in our
country, we also recognize that some of the same women who fought for equal voting rights on the basis of
gender held problematic views on racial equity that further disenfranchised women of color; and
WHEREAS, the City recognizes women of color experienced racial discrimination and bias within
the movement and by the state and federal governments; and
WHEREAS, the City denounces all subsequent State or regional actions designed to circumvent the
Amendment by suppressing voting rights through racially prejudicial laws, unjust practices, and intimidation;
and in 2013, Colorado enacted a mail-in ballot system to combat voter suppression so that we now have an
ongoing model inspiring full, fair, and greater participation in the democratic process by all Americans,
regardless of gender identity and expression, race, ethnicity, social class, previous felonious conviction, or
sexual orientation; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I Wade Troxell, Mayor of the City of Fort Collins, do hereby proclaim August
26, 2020, as
WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY
in Fort Collins and encourage all community members to both honor and promote the democratic values and
vision of this Amendment to our Constitution.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and the seal of the City of Fort Collins this
18th day of August, 2020,
____________________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________________
City Clerk