Commission on the Status of Women

U.S. Participation in the United Nations 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women

United States Representative to the Commission on the Status of Women Ambassador Ellen R. Sauerbrey will head the U.S. delegation to the 2005 meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. The meeting commemorates the tenth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing+10) and will be held February 28 – March 11 in New York. Other U.S. delegates include Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs Mark P. Lagon, and U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations Ambassador Sichan Siv.

The three public U.S. delegates are: Patricia P. Brister, who served on the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee for twelve years and served as Chairman of the Republican Party of Louisiana for four years; Susan B. Hirschmann, a partner with Williams and Jensen PLLC and former Chief of Staff to Congressman Tom DeLay (R-TX); and, Janet Parshall, host of the radio and television program "Janet Parshall’s America" and the author of several books, most recently "Traveling a Pilgrim's Path: Preparing Your Child to Navigate the Journey of Faith".

The United States is firmly committed to promoting the rights and advancement of women domestically and internationally. We hope this meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women will contribute to tangible efforts by all nations to expand the political participation, economic empowerment, freedom from violence, and education of women worldwide.

2005/241 Released on February 25, 2005 Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC

Freedom Calendar 02/26/05 - 03/05/05

February 26, 2004, Hispanic Republican U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-TX) condemns racist comments by U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL); she had called Asst. Secretary of State Roger Noriega and several Hispanic Congressmen “a bunch of white men...you all look alike to me”

February 27, 1860, Abraham Lincoln launches campaign for Republican presidential nomination with speech at the Cooper Institute in New York.

February 28, 1871, Republican Congress passes Enforcement Act providing federal protection for African-American voters.

March 1, 1875, Civil Rights Act of 1875, guaranteeing access to public accommodations without regard to race, signed by Republican President U.S. Grant; passed with 92% Republican support over 100% Democrat opposition.

March 2, 1953, Republican Clare Booth Luce, U.S. Ambassador to Italy, becomes first woman to serve as ambassador to a major power.

March 3, 1865, Republican Congress establishes Freedmen’s Bureau to provide health care, education, and technical assistance to emancipated slaves.

March 4, 1954, President Dwight Eisenhower appoints J. Ernest Wilkins to serve as first African-American U.S. Asst. Secretary of Labor.

March 5, 1875, Blanche Bruce (R-MS) becomes first African-American to serve full term in U.S. Senate; in 1879 he was first African-American to preside over Senate.

“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”

Abraham Lincoln

SOURCE: 2005 Republican Freedom Calendar