Anna Campbell Bliss. Virginia Tanner. Alice Kasai. These women have filled our community with beauty, intelligence and a passion for justice.
Looking up at the many honored in the new Utah Women 2020 mural, I thought, “There are so many more.”
Rita Narimatsu Inoway spent decades working to help this community. She advocated for fair housing as a Salt Lake County housing commissioner, served the YWCA, directed the information and referral center and assisted Utah seniors. If she was not the first Asian American woman to hold all of her underpaid positions, I would be surprised. All the while, she raised her son, my spouse, to become the best possible husband and father.
Christine Durham, Utah’s first female district court judge and first female justice and then chief justice of the Utah Supreme Court, served our state for over 35 years. Recognized nationally for her efforts to improve the administration of justice and judicial education, she received the 2007 William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. Her unwavering commitment to Utah continues in retirement through her volunteer work to improve judicial performance evaluation, diversity and inclusion and factual innocence efforts.
History often overlooks women. We should all pay tribute to those women who have inspired and mentored us. When you look at our new mural, to whom would you pay tribute?
Jennifer Yim
Salt Lake City