Norton Announces State of the Union Guest, Raya Kenney

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) announced that her guest for next week’s State of the Union address will be constituent Raya Kenney, who inspired Norton’s bill to establish a memorial honoring women who worked on the home front in World War II. President Biden signed the bill into law in December.

“As a fifth-grader, Raya contacted my office wondering why the women on the home front in World War II, whose contributions to the civilian workforce were so critical to maintaining the stability of the country, had not received much recognition for their efforts compared to the men who bravely fought overseas. Women also played important yet often unacknowledged roles in the war effort, such as codebreakers and Air Force Service Pilots who flew military aircraft so men could fly overseas,” Norton said. “She was correct, and I introduced a bill to establish a memorial honoring these brave women. Raya’s now in college, and I’m pleased she accepted my invitation to hear the same president who signed the bill into law deliver this year’s historic State of the Union address.”

"I’m honored to be invited as Congresswoman Norton’s guest to the historic State of the Union address,” Kenney said. “Without her, my childhood dream of making a memorial possible in Washington, D.C. to honor the women who worked on the home front during WWII would not have become law. I look forward to hearing President Biden speak, and am grateful for the opportunity to bring awareness to these women and the progress possible when we stretch our limits and work together for a common goal which is, after all, what those formidable women on the home front demonstrated."

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