Speeches / page 302

Crystal Eastman
Speeches
Now We Can Begin - 1920
December 1, 1920
Eastman delivered the speech "Now We Can Begin" following the ratification of the 19th Amendment, outlining the work still to do to achieve gender equality. It was published in The Liberator in December, 1920. Most women will agree that August 23, the day when the Tennessee legislature finally enacted the Federal suffrage amendment, is a day to begin with, not a day to end with. Men are saying perhaps "Thank God, this everlasting woman's fight is over!" But women, if I know them, are saying, "Now at last we can […]
Queen Elizabeth II
Speeches
Coronation Speech - June 2, 1953
June 2, 1953
Queen Elizabeth II's speech delivered on the evening of her coronation day. When I spoke to you last, at Christmas, I asked you all, whatever your religion, to pray for me on the day of my Coronation — to pray that God would give me wisdom and strength to carry out the promises that I should then be making. Throughout this memorable day I have been uplifted and sustained by the knowledge that your thoughts and prayers were with me. I have been aware all the time that my peoples, […]
Queen Elizabeth II
Speeches
Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations - Oct. 21, 1957
October 21, 1957
I thank you, Mr. President, for your words of welcome. I wish first to express to you, to the Secretary-General and to the General Assembly of the United Nations my great pleasure at being here today. This Assembly was born of the endeavors of countless men and women from different nations who, over the centuries, have pursued the aims of the preservation of peace between nations, equality of justice for all before the law and the right of the peoples of the world to live their lives in freedom and […]
Benazir Bhutto
categories: Keynote Address, Speeches
Address at the Fourth World Conference on Women - Sept. 4, 1995
September 4, 1995
Madam Chairperson, Mr. Secretary General, Distinguished Delegates, Sisters, Pakistan is grateful to the Government and the people of China for hosting this Conference. We have been deeply touched by the warm welcome and gracious hospitality. I pay a special tribute to the Secretary General of the United Nations and Mrs. Gertrude Mongella, the Secretary General of the Conference for their tireless efforts in organizing this meeting. My dear sisters, ladies and gentlemen! There is a moral crisis engulfing the world as we speak, a crisis of injustice and inaction, a […]
Carrie Chapman Catt
categories: Acceptance Speech, Speeches
1900 NAWSA Presidential Acceptance - Feb. 13, 1900
February 13, 1900
Good friends, I should hardly be human if I did not feel gratitude and appreciation for the confidence you have shown me; but I feel the honor of the position much less than its responsibility. I never was an aspirant for it. I consented only six weeks ago to stand. I was not willing to be the next president after Miss Anthony. I have known that there was a general loyalty to her which could not be given to any younger worker. Since Miss Anthony announced her intention to retire, […]
Elizabeth Dole
categories: Commencement/Baccalaureate/Convocation Address, Speeches
Remarks at Duke University Commencement - May 14, 2000
May 14, 2000
Thank you so much for that wonderful, warm welcome. I am so grateful for the honor bestowed on me today, which I will cherish a lifetime. Thank you, Madame President, for that more than generous introduction. We're all so grateful for your strong and able leadership. Madame President -- that does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Oh, well. When the Class of 2000 invited me to be a part of this special day, I was both touched and flattered. After all, I come before you as a […]
Ida B Wells-Barnett
Speeches
Lynch Law in All Its Phases - February 13, 1893
February 13, 1893
Wells first published a version this speech on June 25, 1892, in the New York Age. She delivered a version of the speech at Lyric Hall in New York City on October 5, 1892, and published the speech as a pamphlet on Oct. 26, 1892. She delivered a similar speech twice in February 1893, at the Tremont Temple in Boston, Massachusetts (this version), and by invitation of Frederick Douglass at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C. I am before the American people to-day through no inclination of my […]
Ida B Wells-Barnett
Speeches
Lynching Our National Crime - June 1, 1909
June 1, 1909
The lynching record for a quarter of a century merits the thoughtful study of the American people. It presents three salient facts: First: Lynching is color line murder. Second: Crimes against women is the excuse, not the cause. Third: It is a national crime and requires a national remedy. Proof that lynching follows the color line is to be found in the statistics which have been kept for the past twenty-five years. During the few years preceding this period and while frontier lynch law existed, the executions showed a majority […]
Lucy Stone
Speeches
Disappointment is the Lot of Women - Oct. 17, 1855
October 17, 1855
The last speaker alluded to this movement as being that of a few disappointed women. From the first years to which my memory stretches, I have been a disappointed woman. When, with my brothers, I reached forth after the sources of knowledge, I was reproved with "It isn't fit for you; it doesn't belong to women." Then there was but one college in the world where women were admitted, and that was in Brazil. I would have found my way there, but by the time I was prepared to go, […]
Joyce Banda
categories: Eulogy, Speeches
Speech at Nelson Mandela's Burial - Dec. 15, 2013
December 15, 2013
Your Excellency President Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa; Mama Graca Machel; Mama Winnie Madikizela- Mandela Your Royal Highness Prince Charles Your Royal Highness Prince Albert of Monaco Your Royal Highness King of Lesotho The Mandela Family; Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government Members of the Diplomatic Corps Member of the Clergy Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. It is with a deep sense of humility that I accepted to come and be part of this event today. I stand before you to join you, the people of […]