THE OBSERVATION BOOTH
OP / ED BY ANDREA DIALECT
DOING US PROUD
This year’s, the National Women’s History Month theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”
This time, when the taskmasters of process shouts popped into my head, it triggered a quantum leap into the past. Instantly, I could once again hear my sister Pam ever so passionately massacring one of our favorite sing-alongs at the time, as she often had. When she did her thang, her voice would loom over us and the artist we really wanted to hear. The rest has become our history. That memory brought me much laughter and joy, as it always had. Also, it had gifted me a title. In this instance, it was the name of Lisa Stansfield’s hit song “All Woman.”
Thankfully, a convo with one of my future subjects, who also will be donning the page for the theme, reminded me about this month’s theme. For March, THE OBSERVATION BOOTH is a dedication to those knowingly intelligent and beautifully inspiring Women of Change. When thoughts of such a woman’s image flashed in my head, the past had been quite generous. It appeared like “Tada,” and I got my first subject.
This person is a person who embodies the 2024 Women’s Month theme and all things women. I had the pleasure of interviewing her many years ago, although we officially met only once. Making her acquaintance had given me a sense of pride. When I’d see testaments of her name or image, be it at the Department of Motor Vehicles as I had, transfixed on a school above its doors or adorned in print of all types, which, I often have, imagine how I felt when I’d get that last hello from her on social media. It had been years; I was shocked.
Although she is no longer with us, she inspires and motivates me simply by seeing or hearing her name. She has truly left a legacy that will propel us forward for times to come to eternity. I went into the archives and yanked that article, and as I read it, as my sister’s bellows, it once again brought me such joy.
She was such a beautiful soul, and I shall forever praise and revere her name. Rest in Heaven, Lieutenant Governor Shelia Y. Oliver; job well done. I also wanted to thank Terry Tucker, who was the Chief of Staff, and all those who had the privilege of working beside her. Blessings also to the family and friends of our beloved. Google her name for a more extensive view of this woman that was all woman… Lieutenant Governor Shelia Y. Oliver.
DID US PROUD
Sheila Yvette Oliver was an American politician who served as the second lieutenant governor of New Jersey from 2018 until her death in 2023. – Wikipedia
Lieutenant Governor Sheila Y. Oliver
Born to the late Charles Oliver and Jennie Oliver, Sheila Y. Oliver served as New Jersey’s 2nd Lieutenant Governor from January 16, 2018, until her passing on August 1, 2023.
A self-described “Jersey Girl,” born and raised in an ethnically diverse Newark neighborhood Lieutenant Governor Oliver was inspired as a young girl to be a fighter for the voiceless when her eyes were opened to societal injustices and inequities around her, often citing “A Tale of Two Cities” as her youth awakening. She pioneered a successful career in public service advocating for social justice, women’s equality, and education, ultimately in 2017 becoming the first woman of color to serve in a statewide elected office in New Jersey history. In 2021, Lt. Governor Oliver was reelected to serve a second term in office.
In addition to her role as Lieutenant Governor, she served as Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs, where she led efforts to strengthen and expand initiatives for fair and affordable housing, community revitalization, homelessness prevention, and local government services that support New Jersey’s 564 municipalities.
Under her leadership, the Department also expanded and leveraged a wide range of initiatives aimed at assisting distressed municipalities, including the federal Opportunity Zones tax incentive, the Main Street New Jersey program, the Neighborhood Preservation Program, the Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit program, and the Urban Enterprise Zone Program, which was renewed by legislation she signed in 2021.
In her role as Acting Governor, she signed multiple bills into law, including those that established a Caregiver Task Force to identify ways to support people taking care of loved ones who are elderly or disabled, require all public school students in grades 6-8 to receive financial literacy education, strengthen equal pay for equal work by preventing employers from asking employees’ previous salary history, and protect employees from wage theft. She also signed into law legislation that established a Restorative and Transformative Justice for Youths and Communities Pilot Program within the Juvenile Justice Commission to help divert youth from entering and re-entering the juvenile justice system.
Across her career, Lieutenant Governor Oliver worked in the public, non-profit, and private sectors, and has taught numerous college courses. She has served as a member of both the East Orange Board of Education and the Essex County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
In 2003, she was elected to serve the 34th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly.
A trailblazer in every sense of the word, in 2010 she became the first African American woman in state history to serve as Assembly Speaker, and just the second in the nation’s history to lead a state legislative house.
A proud alumna of the Newark public school system, Lieutenant Governor Oliver graduated cum laude from Lincoln University, and received her Master of Science Degree in Community Organization, Planning and Administration from Columbia University. She has received honorary doctorates of humane letters from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Lincoln University, Montclair University, Stockton University and Berkeley and Essex County Colleges.
She was a proud 40-plus-year resident of East Orange where she treasured her time with her 95-year-old mother, who always encouraged her to be a critical thinker while fostering her passion for helping people through effective public policy. https://nj.gov/governor/Referenced entirely
DID YA KNOW THAT…
Women’s History Month was first celebrated in 1987, but the true origins of the recognition date back further.
Women’s History Month started out as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California – Women’s History Week.
It was established in 1978 by the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County Commission on the Status of Women in California, who designated the week of March 8 as Women’s History Week to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8. Soon, the movement spread across the country, and the world, as more communities initiated their own celebrations the following year, according to the National Geographic Kids.
In 1980, the National Women’s History Project (now the National Women’s History Alliance) led a consortium of women’s groups and historians in their efforts to lobby for national recognition, which they achieved. By February of that year, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980, as National Women’s History Week.
Presidents after Carter continued to proclaim a National Women’s History Week in March, until Congress passed Public Law 100-9 in 1987 designating March as Women’s History Month, reports the National Women’s History Museum.
Since 1995, each U.S. president has issued annual proclamations designation the month of March as Women’s History Month.
Each year, the National Women’s History Alliance chooses a theme to celebrate Women’s History Month.
Past themes include “Women Taking the Lead to Save our Planet” in 2009, “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced” in 2020 and 2021, “Providing Healing, Promoting Hope” in 2022 and “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” in 2023, according to National Geographic Kids.
This year, the National Women’s History Month theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion.”
According to the National Women’s History Alliance, the 2024 theme recognizes women throughout the country who believe a positive future can only be achieved by eliminating bias and discrimination “entirely from our lives and institutions.”
(www.delawareonline.com) Referenced entirely
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