To: Board of County Commissioners
From: Jerome Threlkeld, Organizational Development Coordinator
title
RE: Approval of a request from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission to declare March 2025 as Women’s History Month in Genesee County
recommendation
BOARD ACTION REQUESTED:
Approval of a request from the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission to declare March 2025 as Women’s History Month in Genesee County.
BACKGROUND:
At their February meeting, Genesee County’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission approved the attached resolution declaring March 2025 as Women’s History Month.
DISCUSSION:
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission have forwarded their resolution with a request to the Board of County Commissioners to adopt.
IMPACT ON HUMAN RESOURCES:
IMPACT ON BUDGET:
IMPACT ON FACILITIES:
IMPACT ON TECHNOLOGY:
CONFORMITY TO COUNTY PRIORITIES:
The Board of County Commissioners have prioritized and Inclusive and Collaborative Culture. By honoring all women and the contributions they have made to Genesee County, we are continuing our commitment to highlighting the benefits of honoring our diversity as a community.
.resolution
TO THE HONORABLE CHAIRPERSON AND MEMBERS OF THE GENESEE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS, GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN:
WHEREAS, Congress overwhelmingly passed a resolution in 1987 declaring March to be Women’s History Month, which proclaimed that American women of every race, class, and ethnic background have made historical contributions to the growth and strength of the nation in countless recorded and unrecorded ways; that American women have played and continue to play a critical economic, cultural, and social role in every sphere of our nation's life by constituting a significant portion of the labor force working in and outside of the home; American women have played a unique role throughout our history by providing the majority of the nation's volunteer labor force and have been particularly important in the establishment of early charitable philanthropic and cultural institutions in this country; and that American women of every race, class, and ethnic background served as early leaders in the forefront of every major progressive social change movement, not only to secure their own right 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 to create a more fair and just society for all; and
WHEREAS, women in Genesee County have similarly been integral to every facet of community life, from the Women’s Auxiliary and the Women’s Emergency Brigade’s role in supporting the establishment of the United Auto Workers during the Sit-Down Strike, to the role of Olive Beasley in organizing the 10-day sleep-in on the grounds of Flint City Hall in support of fair housing, to holding positions of leadership in local educational, healthcare, industrial, civic, and financial institutions; and
WHEREAS, to date a total of 23 women have served on the Genesee County Board of Commissioners, starting with Charlotte Williams in 1965 who also served as President of the National Association of Counties, and including two women who served as Chair of the Board of County Commissioners (Deborah Cherry and Ellen Ellenberg); and
WHEREAS, two notable women are honored on the grounds of the Genesee County Court House, including Sarah Emma Edmonds, who was born in Canada and moved to Genesee County where she joined the Union army in 1861, disguising her gender as she fought valiantly with Company F, Second Michigan Infantry at the battle of Bull Run and with the Army of the Potomac at the battle of Fredericksburg; and
WHEREAS, Genesee County has also memorialized the contributions of Eva R. Belles, a Flint resident who in 1888 attempted to vote in a school board election but was turned away from the polls on the basis of being a woman, and who successfully sued in Genesee County Circuit Court and prevailed at the Michigan Supreme Court to secure women’s right to vote in local school elections.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Genesee County Board of County Commissioners and the Genesee County Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission hereby recognize the month of March 2025 as Women’s History Month in Genesee County and encourage the celebration of Women’s History Month, participation in community events, sharing stories, and learning about the struggles women have faced and the contributions they have made to our county and nation.