Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 27–Senators Mathews, Amodei, Care, Carlton, Coffin, Jacobsen, James, McGinness, Neal, O’Connell, O’Donnell, Porter, Raggio, Rawson, Rhoads, Schneider, Shaffer, Titus, Townsend, Washington and Wiener

 

Joint Sponsors: Assemblymen Leslie, Anderson, Angle, Arberry, Bache, Beers, Berman, Brower, Brown, Buckley, Carpenter, Cegavske, Chowning, Claborn, Collins, de Braga, Dini, Freeman, Gibbons, Giunchigliani, Goldwater, Gustavson, Hettrick, Humke, Koivisto, Lee, Manendo, Marvel, McClain, Mortenson, Neighbors, Nolan, Oceguera, Ohrenschall, Parks, Parnell, Perkins, Price, Smith, Tiffany, Von Tobel and Williams

 

FILE NUMBER..........

 

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION—Memorializing distinguished civil rights leader Bertha Woodard.

 

   Whereas, On September 16, 1999, Nevada lost an exceptional lady

 with a beautiful spirit of giving, Bertha Woodard, who lived with grace

 and dignity, and spent her time on Earth serving others; and

   Whereas, Bertha Rosanna Sanford Woodard was born on January 25,

 1916, to Samuel and Lillie Belle Sanford; and

   Whereas, Bertha grew up in Pasadena, California, and attended

 Pasadena City College and Washoe Western School of Nursing; and

   Whereas, After moving to Reno, Bertha worked as a nurse at Washoe

 Medical Center and served on the State Board of Nursing from 1967 until

 1975, and, when she was not serving others in that capacity, she devoted

 herself to securing equality for minorities in Northern Nevada; and

   Whereas, Her pioneering endeavors as a leader for civil rights are

 especially laudable because they came at a time when the City of Reno

 was referred to by some as the “Mississippi of the West,” not because it

 had a river running through it, but because the phrase made a statement

 about the social and political attitude toward race that existed in the area at

 that time; and

   Whereas, In spite of the obstacles she faced, Bertha Woodard

 organized sit-ins and led picket lines to protest racism in Northern Nevada,

 and she is acknowledged as the matriarch of the Reno-Sparks chapter of

 the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,

 NAACP, for which she served as President from 1971 until 1976; and

   Whereas, A favorite reminiscence that reveals the courage and zeal

 which characterized Bertha Woodard is the charge, in the form of a picket

 line, that she led in Hawthorne when the only restaurant in town was

 inside a casino that denied service to persons of color, a charge that

 eventually caused the casino to change its policy; and

   Whereas, To achieve her goals, Bertha organized the crusade to

 remove signs from Reno stores that read, “No Indians, Negroes or Dogs”

 and petitioned the Reno City Council in 1959 to lift a ban on minorities in

 local casinos when the Olympics were to be held in nearby Squaw Valley;

 and

   Whereas, Bertha saw her diligent work come to fruition when she was

 invited in 1961 to attend the signing by Governor Grant Sawyer of the first

 civil rights bill in the State of Nevada, a bill that established the Nevada

Commission on Equal Rights of Citizens, now known as the Nevada Equal

Rights Commission; and

   Whereas, The toil and industry of Bertha Woodard were instrumental

 in fostering the declaration of the Nevada Legislature in that bill which

 says that it is “the public policy of the State of Nevada to protect the

 welfare, prosperity, health and peace of all the people of the state . . .

 without discrimination, distinction or restriction because of race, religious

 creed, color, national origin or ancestry”; and

   Whereas, In 1981, the University of Nevada, Reno, honored Bertha

 with the Distinguished Nevadan Award, an honor bestowed only upon

 those who have contributed in an outstanding manner to this state; and

   Whereas, Friends remember Bertha Woodard’s generosity and

 boundless kindness, as recalled in a story by a former chapter president of

 the NAACP who tells of a time when he and a friend were unable to find a

 place to stay when traveling to a civil rights conference until they made a

 call to Bertha, who soon found them an available room in a motel; and

   Whereas, Shortly before her death, Bertha was in the process of

 planning a project with a group of students at the University of Nevada,

 Reno, to compile a comprehensive history of the civil rights movement in

 Nevada, and true to the African proverb “Each time an elder passes, a

 library dies,” the rich, personal knowledge of Bertha Woodard will be

 sorely missed on any such project; and

   Whereas, It would be inconceivable to overstate the contributions of

 Bertha Woodard to the people of this state and impossible to express the

 depth of gratitude she deserves; now, therefore, be it

   Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the Assembly

 Concurring, That the members of the Nevada Legislature convey their

 sympathies and condolences to the family of Bertha Woodard and express

 their sincerest gratitude and gratefulness for her accomplishments; and be

 it further

   Resolved, That this body honors the rich legacy Bertha Woodard left

 to the residents of this state and acknowledges the breaking down of

 barriers and the dramatic change in racial outlook that were the result of

 her strength and enthusiasm; and be it further

   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate prepare and transmit a copy

 of this resolution to the family of Bertha Woodard and to the Reno-Sparks

 chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored

 People.

 

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