National Women's Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, N.Y. welcomes 9 new inductees
SENECA FALLS, N.Y. -- The National Women's Hall of Fame is located near the Finger Lakes in Seneca Falls, New York.
Over the weekend, nine new women were inducted. From a 19th Century equal rights activist to a former first lady, they have all left their mark on history.
One of the women inducted was Rebecca Halstead, the first woman in U.S. military history to command combat at a strategic level. For her, the hall connects generations of women to what's possible.
"Young girls can come through here and they can see all the different walks of life, and they are going to connect maybe to arts or sports, and then they are going to see how that path connected us all," she said.
Also honored was former First Lady Michelle Obama. In a recorded acceptance speech, she credited the community around her for making all she has accomplished attainable.
"From a very young age, these women taught me that I matter. That I was never just a little girl or a child. I was always someone special in my own right. Someone with a big heart and a big brain. Someone who had value, someone limited only by her own imagination for herself," she said.
One of the women presenting was former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. She reflected on the current struggles women face and all that needs to be done.
"It saddens and, yes, angers me that my granddaughter, Charlotte, may grow up in a world where she may have fewer rights than my daughter, Chelsea. But that also motivates me to keep going, fighting, speaking out, and standing up," she said. "And I know I am in good company, not only with the inductees but with all of you."
There are now 312 women in the hall of fame. This weekend's other inductees included:
- Retired soccer star Mia Hamm
- Late science fiction author Octavia E. Butler
- Artist, feminist and author Judy Chicago
- 19th Century women's rights and equal rights activist Emily Howland
- NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson
- Native American artist Joy Harjo
- Former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi
