You may all go to Hell - and I will go to Texas.
Those aren't my words. They're Davy Crockett's.
But he was onto something.
Though I don't wish anyone to go to hell, I do wish you'd all go to Texas!
I recently had the pleasure of visiting over my Spring break. I saw lots of cute cowboys strutin their stuff in their blue jeans, boots and over-sized belt-buckles but I wondered why do they get all the credit as the tough Texans.
I figured there had to be some impressive Texas women.
And I was right!
Since March is Women's History Month I thought it absolutely appropriate to do (and share) a little research on them ;)
This website had several impressive Texan cowgirls; here are some of my favorites:
- Angelina: She is the only woman to have a Texas river, a county, and a national forest named for her. In 1690, the name Angelina was given at baptism to a Native-American woman who was educated by Spanish friars at the Mission of San Juan Bautista on the Rio Grande and perhaps also at the College of Zacatecas. She spoke Spanish as well as several Indian languages so she became a translator, including translating for an expedition that founded the Alamo and the city of San Antonio.
Sarah Horton Cockrell: (1819 – 1892) She was a very successful businesswoman who built the first iron bridge over the Trinity River at Dallas in 1872 and Dallas' first three-story hotel. Left a widow with small children in 1858, all she had was a stack of debts and her husband's ferry business. She thought big and invested wisely. She set up her own corporations, the Dallas Bridge Company, and the S. H. Cockrell Co., which owned a flour mill. When she died in 1892, her properties were so extensive that her will had to be published in pamphlet form.
- Bessie Coleman: (1892-1926) She was one of the first licensed female pilots and the world's first black female aviator and barnstormer, had a spectacular but brief career in air shows. She was born in Atlanta, Texas, the twelfth of 13 children. Her mother, an illiterate former slave, borrowed books so Bessie could learn to read. She encouraged young blacks to become involved in aviation. She once refused to perform in Waxahachie, where she had grown up, until blacks were allowed to use the same entrance as whites to the exhibition. Black aviators memorialized her by naming their flying clubs and their magazine after her. In 1990, a street to Chicago's O'Hare Airport was named Bessie Coleman Drive, and, in 1995, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp in her honor.
- Sarah T.Hughes: (1896-1985) She was an attorney, legislator, women's rights activist, United Nations supporter, and Texas' first female state and federal judge. A member of a Dallas law firm from 1923 to 1935, she was elected to her first term in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1930 and voted "Most Valuable Member" her second term.She was national president of the Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs in 1952. The national organization spearheaded her nomination for the vice presidency on the Democratic Party ticket that year, the first woman ever considered, though she withdrew her name. And, after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, she administered the Presidential oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson.
- Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias: (1911 – 1956) She earned more medals and set more records in more sports than any other athlete, male or female, in the twentieth century. She dominated the women's events at the 1932 Olympics, winning three gold medals and setting world records in the 80-meter hurdles and the javelin throw. She excelled in every sport she tried and, in particular, won every existing women's golf title. In 1953, she was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. The only race she ever lost was to cancer, in 1956.
- Sarah Ragle Weddington: (1945 – ) She is best known for having successfully argued the 1973: Roe v. Wade abortion rights case before the U.S. Supreme Court. She was one of only 40 among 1,600 students at the law school at the University of Texas at Austin. She was active in the Texas women's movement, lobbied in the Texas Legislature for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and was a founder of the Texas Women's Political Caucus. She was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1972 and helped with the following:
- change the law that prevented women from getting credit cards in their own names
- stopped schools from firing pregnant teachers
- improved the treatment of rape victims.
- Also, under President Jimmy Carter, she became general counsel for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, an advisor to the president on women's issues, and later became a member of the White House senior staff. She now teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, writes, and speaks publicly, particularly about women and leadership.
Pretty impressive, right?
I bet there are even more impressive women in your own state. So look them up.
ALSO, celebrate the women in Your. Own. History.
One of the things I did on my trip was visit family and look at old family photographs. I got to see a picture of my great, great, great grandmother!?! Talk to your moms, aunts, grandmothers and others to learn about the women you came from.
This month's 2011 theme is "Our History is Our Strength."
I hope you find both.
Happy Women's History Month!!!
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