On September 12, 1972, Florida Senator Edward J. Gurney sent Roxcy Bolton a copy of the Women's Rights Day Proclamation (now Women's Equality Day) signed by President Richard M. Nixon. Gurney explained that he wanted her to have the document because "without your suggestion and pushing, there would not have been a Women's Rights Day."

Women's Equality Day is observed nationally each year on August 26 to commemorate the day in 1920 that the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted, granting women full voting rights.

Letter from U.S. Senator Edward J. Gurney to Roxcy Bolton presenting the Women's Rights Day Proclamation signed by President Richard Nixon, September 12, 1972

Edward J. Gurney to Roxcy Bolton, September 12, 1972 The newest film added to the Florida Memory website features a 2001 interview with Roxcy Bolton for Coral Gables Television. In the interview, Bolton talks about how her upbringing in Mississippi instilled values that paved the way for a life of determined activism. Bolton also discusses several instances from her life in Coral Gables that demonstrate her commitment to equality.

Portrait of Roxcy Bolton

Roxcy Bolton Bolton gained notoriety in Florida for establishing shelters for homeless and battered women; for gaining access for women to the previously all-male lunchrooms at Burdines and Jordan Marsh department stores; for helping to end the practice of assigning only female names to hurricanes; and for opening the influential Tiger Bay political club to women. Her many years of pioneering equal rights activism have earned her numerous awards, including induction into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame in 1984.

Please join us in commemorating Women's Equality Day and recognizing Roxcy Bolton's role in the Equal Rights Movement. Learn more about Roxcy Bolton on Florida Memory.

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