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WHEREAS, Dr. Wangari Maathai, of Nyeri, Kenya, is an internationally known environmentalist and human rights activist who founded the Green Belt Movement in 1977 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace”; and,
WHEREAS, the Green Belt Movement is an environmental organization that empowers women to conserve the environment and improve quality of life in response to the needs of rural Kenyan women whose livelihoods were in jeopardy due to mass deforestation. Since its formation in 1977, the Green Belt Movement has planted 51 million trees in Kenya; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Wangari Maathai was a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and obtained her Master of Science degree in Biology in 1966. Dr. Maathai obtained a Ph.D. in Anatomy from the University of Nairobi in 1971, making her the first woman from central and east Africa to earn a Doctorate degree; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Wangari Maathai became the first female professor to teach at the university level at the University of Nairobi in 1976; and,
WHEREAS, Dr. Wangari Maathai, was arrested, brutally beaten and imprisoned during the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for her relentless criticism of the Kenyan government; and,
WHEREAS, during Earth Week 2018 (Sunday, April 22, 2018 - Saturday, April 28, 2018) the Pittsburgh-based Sembène - The Film & Arts Festival - will present events celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Wangari Maathai at City of Asylum at Alphabet City on Pittsburgh’s Northside; and,
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NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Saturday, April 28, 2018 to be “DR. WANGARI MAATHAI DAY” in the City of Pittsburgh.