HR11 - Commemorating the 143rd anniversary of the birth of Minnie Fisher Cunningham.

      H.R. No. 11       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, March 19, 2025, marks the 143rd anniversary of the   birth of trailblazing activist Minnie Fisher Cunningham, who played   a vital role in securing women's suffrage; and          WHEREAS, The daughter of Horatio and Sallie Fisher, the   former Minnie Fisher was born on the family farm near New Waverly in   1882; she was one of the first women in the state to receive a   pharmacy degree but soon discovered that her untrained male   colleagues made twice her salary; following her marriage to Beverly   "Bill" Cunningham, she became active in social reform efforts in   Galveston; she chaired two Women's Health Protective Association   committees and was a founding member and then president of the   Galveston Equal Suffrage Association; and          WHEREAS, Mrs. Cunningham was elected president of the Texas   Equal Suffrage Association in 1915; membership grew to 10,000 under   her leadership, and her formidable coalition-building and   negotiating skills resulted in a bill granting Texas women the   right to vote in state primary elections; the National American   Woman Suffrage Association recruited her to lobby Congress and   President Woodrow Wilson, and she eventually became the group's   congressional secretary; after passage of the 19th Amendment in   1919, she traveled across the Southwest to rally support for   ratification; her shrewdness and determination were instrumental   in making Texas the first southern state to ratify the amendment,   thwarting an attempt to create a regional bulwark against it; and          WHEREAS, A founder and officer of the National League of   Women Voters, Mrs. Cunningham successfully championed the nation's   first social welfare measure, the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and   Infancy Act; back in Texas, she became one of the first American   women to pursue a career in party politics, running for the   U.S. Senate in 1928 and the governorship in 1944; she was an early   inspiration to Eleanor Roosevelt and in turn energetically   supported the Roosevelt administration's New Deal initiatives in   numerous professional and volunteer capacities, including editor   for the Texas A&M University Agricultural Extension Service, senior   specialist in the Information Division of the federal Agricultural   Adjustment Administration, and acting head of the Women's Division   of the Democratic National Committee; and          WHEREAS, Mrs. Cunningham returned to New Waverly to run the   family farm but remained highly engaged in the progressive   movement; in 1954, she helped establish the Texas Observer , and six   years later, she managed the local headquarters of the   John F. Kennedy presidential campaign, which carried Walker   County; she died on December 9, 1964, at the age of 82; and          WHEREAS, Through her vision, resolve, and extraordinary   ability, Minnie Fisher Cunningham contributed enormously to the   empowerment of American women, and 60 years after her passing, her   accomplishments continue to resonate; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas   Legislature hereby commemorate the 143rd anniversary of the birth   of Minnie Fisher Cunningham.     Morales of Harris     ______________________________   Speaker of the House                 I certify that H.R. No. 11 was adopted by the House on April   17, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 133, Nays 7, 2 present, not   voting.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House