Angela Davis, Sonia Sotomayor among 11 new inductees into Women’s Hall Of Fame
Author/activist Angela Davis and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor were among 11 women inducted into The National Women’s Hall of Fame.
Author, activist, and educator Angela Davis and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor were among the 11 extraordinary women inducted into The National Women’s Hall of Fame on Sept. 14.
The organization has been around for 51 years and includes more than 275 women who have had a significant impact in the arts, athletics, business, education, government, philanthropy, and science.
This year’s ceremony took place in Seneca Falls, New York, the site where the first women’s rights movement convention took place in 1848.
READ MORE: Ayanna Pressley files impeachment resolution against Brett Kavanaugh
The Class of 2019 inducted into the hall in upstate New York also included actress and activist Jane Fonda, attorney Sarah Deer, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, retired Air Force fighter pilot Nicole Malachowski, and late artist and suffragist Rose O’Neill, per Huffington Post.
Molecular biologist Flossie Wong-Staal was also honored for groundbreaking work that confirmed HIV is the cause of AIDS.
Sotomayor, the first Latina Supremere Court justice, praised the “extraordinary” work of her fellow inductees during the ceremony.
“[My] co-honorees have touched so many people,” she said, according to WHAM-TV.
Accepting her award, Davis acknowledged the many female leaders who have inspired her own activism.
READ MORE: Young M.A. compliments Lil Nas X for controlling his coming out message
“At each significant turning point in my life, when I was introduced to the world of progressive political activism, anti-racist prison abolition struggles, when I myself was on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List and ended up spending two years in jail and on trial, when I became involved in many international solidarity efforts, intersectional feminist movements, I’ve always been one of many,” Davis said, according to AP.
“My own consciousness has been enabled always by shared endeavors and collective consciousness,” she added.
The other Class of 2019 honorees included:
- Laurie Spiegel, composer
- Rose O’Neill, artist and activist (posthumous)
- Louise Slaughter, congresswoman (posthumous)
National Women’s Hall of Fame, notes on its website that their mission “all day, every day” is “Showcasing great women… Inspiring all!”
After being nominated by the public, a panel of experts select inductees to honor and The Women’s Hall of Fame hosts induction ceremonies every two years.
