Public Policy: Breaking Barriers Then and Now

This month AAUW joins in the commemoration of Arizona’s statehood centennial with a gala presentation, Celebrating Arizona Women.  Through storytelling, music, dance and pictures we will affirm women’s roles in preparing this beautiful and rugged territory to take its place as the 48^th state.  Women - Native Americans, Latinas, Anglos, Blacks and many others – are frequently forgotten in tales of the Old West.  Our presentation will joyously remind the audience that women of all colors and cultures came to Arizona seeking their fortunes bringing with them, not only the stamina of their male counterparts, but also their own special talents and capabilities.  We honor also the women of today who have enlarged and enriched their spheres of influence in dozens of careers and professions unimagined by our pioneer mothers.

February is also Black History Month and a time to recall a few of Arizona’s Black pioneers.  Last year we profiled Elizabeth Hudson Smith who was a respected and prosperous hotelier in Wickenburg at the turn of the century.  She was well educated, as were many Black women in the West.  In More Than Petticoats Wynne Brown writes that many of the Black women who came west supported schools, libraries and literary societies so that their literacy rate was higher than that of Blacks elsewhere and of many Whites.   According to historian W.L. Katz, Black women “stood out” in the West.  “Many proved as tough, spirited, and as resilient as the wilderness they came to conquer.”

A number of the early Black settlers were the wives of the “Buffalo Soldiers.”  Following the Civil War regiments of Black soldiers were sent to Arizona Territory to secure the frontier and protect settlers. One tradition has it that the soldiers were named “buffalo” by Native Americans out of respect for their bravery and perceived resemblance to their sacred bison.  Descendants of these hardy settlers still call Arizona their home.

In 1939 Rebecca Dallis came to Casa Grande to teach in the “colored” school.  Her domain was a one-room school where she taught all eight grades numbering at times as many as 70 pupils.  She was an excellent teacher who had earned a master’s degree, and she endeared herself to the Black community with her deep commitment to teaching despite the lack of equipment and supplies. Today the school has been designated the Rebecca Dallis School in her honor.

Last summer the Arizona Republic noted the passing of the Honorable Jean Williams, the first African-American woman to be appointed municipal judge in Phoenix in 1973.  Earlier in her career she practiced law in Chicago where she was a civil rights lawyer and legal consultant to Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In Arizona she played a significant role in rallying support for Martin Luther King Day and was known for aiding causes to help children, the homeless and impoverished.  Colleagues described her as “feisty and outspoken” and the

Phoenix Assistant Police Chief lauded her ability to “transcend age, race and gender” for the benefit of society.

The resolve of determined women has secured the privileges we now enjoy.  Can we be just as resolute in breaking through barriers for women and girls?