Congressman Morelle announces Hughes as guest for State of the Union Address
CONGRESSMAN JOE MORELLE ANNOUNCES SUSAN B. ANTHONY HOUSE CEO DEBORAH L. HUGHES AS GUEST FOR 2020 STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS
February 4, 2020 (Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Joe Morelle announced that his guest for President Trump’s State of the Union Address will be Deborah L. Hughes, President and CEO of the Susan B. Anthony House and Museum in Rochester, NY and a staunch advocate for women’s rights.
“This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Susan B. Anthony, a pioneer of the women’s rights movement who made her home in my district of Rochester, New York,” said Rep. Morelle. “We’ve come so far in the fight for equality—but we continue to face new barriers that threaten to roll back the progress we’ve made. I’m so grateful to be joined at this year’s State of the Union address by Deborah L. Hughes, whose work reminds us that the words of Susan B. Anthony still ring true today: we must “organize, agitate, and educate” until every American has full equality.”
“I am humbled and honored to represent the National Susan B. Anthony Museum & House and Susan B. Anthony’s legacy as Congressman Joe Morelle’s guest at the State of the Union in this historic 2020 year,” said Deborah L. Hughes, President and CEO of the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House. “Anthony’s life spanned some of the most turbulent and divisive times in our nation’s history. She witnessed the horrific enslavement of human beings, the violent seizure of indigenous lands, labor practices that robbed women, children, and immigrants of health and liberty, three presidential assassinations, the bludgeoning of a Congressman by another, and state-sanctioned hate crimes in the form of Jim Crow laws and lynching. She witnessed the worst in human nature on both a personal and grand scale. Yet she persevered with hope and passion, believing that we could–and must–have ‘a government BY the people, and the WHOLE people; for the people, and the WHOLE people.’ Congressman Morelle represents us with that same vision and passion, and I am honored to be his guest.”
75 years ago, a group of women in Rochester, NY, decided to purchase Susan B. Anthony’s former home on Madison Street and create a memorial sharing Anthony’s life and work in ways that inspire visitors to carry on her legacy of fighting for equality. Deborah L. Hughes serves as the President and CEO of this historic landmark and spearheads innovative programming to encourage voter participation, advocate for women’s rights, and continue the fight for justice.
The State of the Union address will be delivered by President Trump tonight at approximately 8:30 PM.
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CONTACT: Dana Vernetti | 585-820-4684 | dana.vernetti@mail.house.gov
