Elizabeth Peratrovich - Hero
Elizabeth Peratrovich - Hero
Twice each week, I have https://www.printablestoday.com/ as one of my daily news tabs in Firefox via TodaysPages extension. One of the sections on that page is from www.HeroPrintables.com.
Below is the hero's story for today.
Elizabeth Peratrovich (née Wanamaker) was a Tlingit civil rights activist who advocated for the rights of Alaskan natives. She is credited with her decisive Senate testimony that led to the first anti-discrimination law in the United States.
Peratrovich was a member of the Tlingit nation and a member of the Lukaax .ádi clan. She and her family faced discrimination while living in Juneau, Alaska, finding particular difficulty in using public facilities and securing housing.
Peratrovich petitioned the governor of the Alaska territory to ban “No Natives Allowed” signs in 1941. The Anti-Discrimination Act brought before the legislature was defeated in 1943, but in 1945 she stood in front of the territory Senate and gave the last testimony on a bill for equal treatment. She is considered crucial in its passage, and the bill granted full access and accommodations to all citizens within the territory of Alaska.
When, during the testimonies, senator Allen Shattuck of Juneau said, "Who are these people, barely out of savagery, who want to associate with us whites, with 5,000 years of recorded civilization behind us?" she responded with, “I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with five thousand years of recorded civilization behind them, of our Bill of Rights."
