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Brenda Berkman spent 25 years as a firefighter and fire officer for the New York City Fire Department. She was one of the first women to be accepted into the FDNY, after suing the city with several other women in the 1970s in order to be allowed to join. She was promoted to captain in 2002, and retired in 2006 to pursue art. Captain Berkman was one of the first on the scene of the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center attacks. This excerpt is from a speech she gave shortly afterward in November, at the National Women's Law Center's 2001 Awards Dinner.
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Introduction to Opening the Way
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Stop 01--Ruth Sulzbeger-Holmberg
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Stop 03--Charlotte Cooper
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Stop 04--Reverend Violet Dease Lee
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Stop 06--Gloria Jacobs
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Stop 11--Rita Henley Jensen
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Stop 12--Kathleen Turner
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Stop 13--Barbara Goldsmith
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Stop 14--Patricia Galloway
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Stop 15--Toni Reinhold
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Stop 16--Carol Jenkins
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Stop 17--Kirstin Downey
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Stop 18--Anna Quindlen
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Stop 19--Gloria Steinem
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Stop 20--Grace Glueck
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Stop 21--Brenda Berkman