[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 12, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               EDDIE T. PEARSON BLACK HISTORY TRAILBLAZER

                                 ______


                          HON. CARRIE P. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 1996

  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a friend 
and educator, Mr. Eddie T. Pearson who has devoted over 25 years of 
leadership in the quest for educational and racial equality. During 
Black History Month, this Dade County public schools region VI 
superintendent was honored as a role model for youth. All too often, 
our youth's instruction regarding historical events is so far removed 
that any connection to their lives is lost. Honoring Eddie T. Pearson 
was one way of closing that distance in time.
  After graduating from Tuskegee Institute's High School with 
outstanding academic and athletic accomplishments, Eddie continued his 
education at Tuskegee Institute. He gained great notoriety as a star 
football player and was recently inducted into the school's athletic 
hall of fame. Eddie was the first member of his family to obtain a 
post-secondary degree, but he did not stop at that milestone. He later 
received his master's degree from Florida Atlantic University and a 
specialist degree from the University of Florida.
  At 26, Eddie T. Pearson was the youngest principal appointed by Dade 
County public schools and he was the first black individual appointed 
to head a primarily non-black student body--Homestead Middle School. 
This assignment helped to make Eddie an ambassador of race-relations. 
He created an educational environment so that everyone would be given 
the opportunity to excel. Eddie T. successfully designed and 
implemented a plan that provided for the full integration of the 
student population.
  Having served 33 years as a member of the Dade County public school 
family, Eddie T. Pearson is indeed a role model for our times.

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