IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1108 
Commemorating the life of the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 24, 2010 
Ms. WATSON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on the Judiciary 
RESOLUTION 
Commemorating the life of the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker. 
Whereas the late Cynthia DeLores Tucker dedicated her life 
to eliminating racial barriers by championing civil rights 
and rights of women in the United States; 
Whereas, having grown up in Philadelphia during the Great 
Depression, C. DeLores Tucker overcame a childhood 
marked by economic hardship and segregation; 
Whereas, having personally experienced the effects of racism, 
C. DeLores Tucker first became active in the postwar 
civil rights movement when she worked to register Afri-
can-American voters during the 1950 Philadelphia may-
oral campaign; 
Whereas C. DeLores Tucker became active in local politics, 
developed her skills as an accomplished fund raiser and 
public speaker, and quickly became the first African- 
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American and first woman to serve on the Philadelphia 
Zoning Board; 
Whereas in 1965, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, 
C. DeLores Tucker participated in the White House Con-
ference on Civil Rights and marched from Selma to 
Montgomery with Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in 
support of the 1965 Voting Rights Bill, which was later 
signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson; 
Whereas in January 1971, while still primarily focused on ef-
forts to gain equality for all, C. DeLores Tucker was 
named Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 
by then-Governor Milton Shapp, making her the first fe-
male African-American Secretary of a State in the Na-
tion; 
Whereas, under the leadership of C. DeLores Tucker as Sec-
retary of the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania became one of 
the first States to pass the Equal Rights Amendment, 
lower the voting age from 21 to 18, and institute voter 
registration through mail; 
Whereas, after leaving her position in Pennsylvania State 
government, C. DeLores Tucker became the first African- 
American to serve as president of the National Federa-
tion of Democratic Women; 
Whereas in 1984, C. DeLores Tucker founded the National 
Political Congress of Black Women, now known as the 
National Congress of Black Women, a non-profit organi-
zation dedicated to the educational, political, economic, 
and cultural development of African-American Women 
and their families; 
Whereas in 1983, C. DeLores Tucker founded the Philadel-
phia Martin Luther King, Jr. Association for Non-Vio-
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lence and, in 1986, the Bethune-DuBois Institute, both 
of which are dedicated to promoting the cultural and edu-
cational development of African-American youth and 
young professionals; 
Whereas C. DeLores Tucker served as a member of the 
Board of Trustees of the NAACP and numerous other 
boards, including the Points of Light Foundation and 
Delaware Valley College; 
Whereas, in the later phase of her life, C. DeLores Tucker 
publicly criticized gangster rap music, arguing that such 
music denigrated women and promoted violence and drug 
use; 
Whereas, as a student of history, C. DeLores Tucker led the 
successful campaign to have a bust of the pioneering ac-
tivist and suffragist Sojourner Truth installed in the 
United States Capitol, along with other suffragette lead-
ers; 
Whereas C. DeLores Tucker received more than 400 honors 
and awards during her lifetime, including the NAACP 
Thurgood Marshall Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Distinguished Service Award, and the Philadelphia Urban 
League Whitney Young Award, and honorary Doctor of 
Law degrees from Morris College and Villa Maria Col-
lege; and 
Whereas the work of C. DeLores Tucker as crusader for civil 
rights and rights of women, through grace, dignity, and 
purpose has helped transform the perception of race and 
gender in the United States: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commemorates the life of the late Cynthia 
DeLores Tucker; 
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(2) salutes the lasting legacy of the achieve-
ments of C. DeLores Tucker; and 
(3) encourages the continued pursuit of the vi-
sion of C. DeLores Tucker to eliminate racial and 
gender prejudice from all corners of our society. 
Æ 
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