Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the opening of the exhibit as part of Women’s History Month. It’s called New York Women of Change, and it’s located in the State Capitol building in Albany.
There are 28 women being recognized including Shirley Chisolm, who was the first African-American woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and individuals who may not be well-known, such as Missy LeHand, who was a longtime aide to former Governor and President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to Governor Cuomo, and a native of Hilton, is aslo on the list. She's the woman to serve in that position, and is the curator of this exhibit.
“The reason that I think that women’s representation is so important is that women bring a different perspective to the table, it’s not better, it’s just different," DeRosa said during an interview on WCNY's Capitol Pressroom, which is also heard on WXXI. "We see the world through our eyes, we understand the challenges that we face, the stereotypes we face, the unique problems that confront women.”
DeRosa also added, “Many of these women, if you’ll note in the exhibit, were pushing things like having women on juries. How is it that women weren’t sitting on juries but juries were judging whether or not women should go to prison; it’s putting women’s rights in the forefront and so I think that’s an added level of all of this.”
The exhibit runs through the end of March in the second floor of the Capitol in the Governor’s Reception Room.
