Paul, a Mt. Laurel native, was one of the main leaders and strategists in the successful campaign for the passage of 19th Amendment nearly a century ago.
During the first week of Women’s History Month, Democratic Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives to have a portrait of Mt. Laurel native and women's rights leader Alice Paul hung in the U.S. Capitol building.
“It’s a rare honor to have a portrait hung in the Capitol but, currently, under 10 percent of the people receiving this honor are women. We can do better than that, and there’s no one who deserves this tribute more than New Jersey’s Alice Paul,” Norcross said. “From leading the National Women’s Party for more than 50 years to authoring the Equal Rights Amendment, Alice Paul never stopped fighting for what’s right. Even when times were rough and she was arrested, she always stood by her convictions. As someone who grew up not far from her family’s home in South Jersey, I have always heard about and admired Alice Paul’s audacity. I hope my colleagues from around the country will soon be able to see our Jersey hero on a regular basis.”
Krista Niles, Marketing and Civic Engagement Coordinator at the Alice Paul Institute in Mt. Laurel, said the institute was in full support of Norcross’ efforts to permanently memorialize Alice Paul in the United States Capitol building.
“Alice Paul’s deep belief in gender equality fueled her efforts to ensure that democracy in the United States was truly representational of the citizenry through the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted women the right to vote,” Niles said. “We applaud Congressman Norcross’ commitment to rectifying the severe lack of public art that recognizes the important contributions of leading women in American history.”
In related news, on Monday, March 4, Norcross received the 2019 Equality Award from the Alice Paul Institute during the institute’s recent Equality Awards ceremony for his work championing equality through equal access to high-quality education, job training and a living wage.
Also honored at the ceremony was Education Award honoree Jeannine LaRue –founder of the LaRuelist Report blog and Senior Vice President of the Kaufman Zita Group, as well as Empowerment Award honoree Kimberly Ramalho — vice president of communications and public affairs, Lockheed Martin, Rotary and Mission Systems.
“It’s humbling to not only be recognized for my work advancing equality, but to be honored in Alice Paul’s name,” Norcross said. “She fought tooth and nail for women’s rights and I vow to continue the fight in her memory.”
As a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Norcross co-sponsored and voted in favor of the Paycheck Fairness Act (which expands upon the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009). He has also co-sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment, the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act, the Child Care for Working Families Act and the Raise the Wage Act.
