H.R. No. 11
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, March 19, 2025, marks the 143rd anniversary of the
birth of trailblazing activist Minnie Fisher Cunningham, who played
a vital role in securing women's suffrage; and
WHEREAS, The daughter of Horatio and Sallie Fisher, the
former Minnie Fisher was born on the family farm near New Waverly in
1882; she was one of the first women in the state to receive a
pharmacy degree but soon discovered that her untrained male
colleagues made twice her salary; following her marriage to Beverly
"Bill" Cunningham, she became active in social reform efforts in
Galveston; she chaired two Women's Health Protective Association
committees and was a founding member and then president of the
Galveston Equal Suffrage Association; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Cunningham was elected president of the Texas
Equal Suffrage Association in 1915; membership grew to 10,000 under
her leadership, and her formidable coalition-building and
negotiating skills resulted in a bill granting Texas women the
right to vote in state primary elections; the National American
Woman Suffrage Association recruited her to lobby Congress and
President Woodrow Wilson, and she eventually became the group's
congressional secretary; after passage of the 19th Amendment in
1919, she traveled across the Southwest to rally support for
ratification; her shrewdness and determination were instrumental
in making Texas the first southern state to ratify the amendment,
thwarting an attempt to create a regional bulwark against it; and
WHEREAS, A founder and officer of the National League of
Women Voters, Mrs. Cunningham successfully championed the nation's
first social welfare measure, the Sheppard-Towner Maternity and
Infancy Act; back in Texas, she became one of the first American
women to pursue a career in party politics, running for the
U.S. Senate in 1928 and the governorship in 1944; she was an early
inspiration to Eleanor Roosevelt and in turn energetically
supported the Roosevelt administration's New Deal initiatives in
numerous professional and volunteer capacities, including editor
for the Texas A&M University Agricultural Extension Service, senior
specialist in the Information Division of the federal Agricultural
Adjustment Administration, and acting head of the Women's Division
of the Democratic National Committee; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Cunningham returned to New Waverly to run the
family farm but remained highly engaged in the progressive
movement; in 1954, she helped establish the Texas Observer, and six
years later, she managed the local headquarters of the
John F. Kennedy presidential campaign, which carried Walker
County; she died on December 9, 1964, at the age of 82; and
WHEREAS, Through her vision, resolve, and extraordinary
ability, Minnie Fisher Cunningham contributed enormously to the
empowerment of American women, and 60 years after her passing, her
accomplishments continue to resonate; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the 143rd anniversary of the birth
of Minnie Fisher Cunningham.
Morales of Harris
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 11 was adopted by the House on April
17, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 131, Nays 10, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House