Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, President Biden announced the designation of Frances Perkins National Monument in Maine as the country’s newest national monument. The site recognizes Perkins, the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet position in American history.
President Franklin Roosevelt picked Perkins to head the Department of Labor, making her the first woman to hold a cabinet position. She went on to be the longest-serving Secretary of Labor in American history, holding the position from 1933 to 1945, where she helped lead the implementation of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. While Perkins’ actions as labor secretary advanced working-class issues, her views on the civil rights movement were more negative near the end of her life, views which the new monument must explore. In 1980, the Department of Labor’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., was renamed after her.
In addition to the designation, the Biden administration announced new national recognition and investment at sites that elevate the stories of women who have shaped American history, including five new national landmarks across New Mexico, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.
The announcement of the new national monument comes a week after Biden’s designation of Carlisle Federal Indian Boarding School National Monument in Pennsylvania, and is the eighth new national monument designated during his administration.
In response, Dan Ritzman, Sierra Club’s Director of Conservation, released the following statement:
“This designation rightly acknowledges the important role Frances Perkins played as the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet. This monument adds a new chapter to the American story we tell through our national monuments. Women have so often been left out of that story, and we must do more to ensure our public lands include those achievements. We urge President Biden to keep adding to his monumental legacy and protect more of the sites and landscapes that make this country what it is.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.