Governor Janet Mills announced today she has issued an official proclamation designating March as Women’s History Month in Maine.
“Women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our state and nation in countless ways, and yet those contributions are still overlooked and undervalued,” said Governor Mills. “In declaring the month of March Women’s History Month, I hope all Mainers will join me in honoring the women of our past and recommit to working together to achieve true equality for all.”
The full text of the proclamation is below, and a copy is attached.
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historic contributions to the growth and strength of our nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; and
WHEREAS, women have played and continue to play critical economic, cultural, and social roles in every sphere of the life by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working inside and outside of the home; and
WHEREAS, women have played a unique role throughout the history our nation by providing the majority of the volunteer labor force; and
WHEREAS, women were particularly important in the establishment of early charitable, philanthropic, and cultural institutions in our nation; and
WHEREAS, women of every race, class, and ethnic background have served as leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement; and
WHEREAS, women have served our country courageously in the military; 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 have created 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;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved that I, Janet T. Mills, Governor of the State of Maine, do hereby proclaim March 2019 as Women’s History Month in Maine, and call upon the people of Maine to observe this month with the appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.