Wednesday, March 25, 2015

last day to vote for the Tunnel Boring Machine name: Anna J. Cooper, Lucy Diggs Slowe or Mary Church Terrell

See this tweet from DC Water:
                      
                  
Vote for the Tunnel Boring Machine’s name. Today is the last day.

Here is what you see when click on the link above:
First Street Tunnel TBM Naming Survey
DC Water is preparing to launch the tunnel boring machine (TBM) that will mine the half-mile tunnel under First Street NW. When completed, the tunnel will hold more than 9 million gallons of combined stormwater and sewage - a critical component of the effort to reduce chronic flooding in the Bloomingdale and LeDroit Park neighborhoods.
   
Tunnel boring machines are typically named for important women, much as boats are in the nautical world. The tradition is a gesture of goodwill directed toward the safety of the workers and the success of the project.
 
DC Water worked with residents to identify women with ties to the community who would make suitable namesakes for the First Street Tunnel TBM. A list of candidates was pared down to three exceptional finalists and now is your chance to vote for your favorite. Brief biographies are included for all three women. The TBM will be named in honor of the finalist who receives the most votes. The winner will be announced at the Naming Ceremony on Tuesday, April 14.
 
The finalists are:
   
-- Anna, in honor of Anna J. Cooper (1858-1964). The fourth African American woman to receive a doctoral degree, Cooper was an author, educator, feminist and scholar. Cooper lived in LeDroit Park and a traffic circle at Third and T streets NW is named for her.

-- Lucy, in honor of Lucy Diggs Slowe (1885-1937). Slowe was the first dean of women at Howard University and is a founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the first black Greek-lettered sorority.  In 1919, Slowe founded Shaw Junior High School, the first junior high school in the DC school system.

--Mary, in honor of Mary Church Terrell (1863-1964). Terrell  was one of the first African American women to receive a doctoral degree and was a founding member of the NAACP. She lived at 326 T Street NW, which is now a national historic landmark.
      
1. Which name is your favorite?

1 comment:

Tricia said...

Lucy Diggs Slowe seems like a poor, poor choice for a tunnel boring machine. "Lucy digs slow." oh gosh...