[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 161 (Tuesday, October 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   A TRIBUTE TO SALLIE BALDWIN HOWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. G.K. BUTTERFIELD

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 23, 2007

  Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise 
today to pay tribute to Mrs. Sallie Baldwin Howard, a native and 
resident of Wilson, North Carolina. For many years, Mrs. Howard 
dedicated her life to educating and serving the people of Northeastern 
North Carolina. She was recently honored as the Wilson Human Relations 
Commission 2007 Paul Lee Stevens Humanitarian for outstanding service 
to her community.
  Madam Speaker, Mrs. Howard, who is affectionately known as ``Bibi,'' 
dedicated much of her life as a teacher in the New York City Public 
School System during her early years, but for the past 15 years she has 
donated all of her time and energy to rallying youth in Wilson, 
challenging them to be exemplary citizens and great achievers.
  Madam Speaker, high praise is due to Mrs. Howard for her success in 
overcoming the racial and gender prejudices of her time. Mrs. Bibi 
Howard was born in Wilson, North Carolina, to Narcissus and Marcellus 
Sims on March 23, 1916. She overcame countless challenges growing up in 
the Jim Crow South as the daughter of sharecroppers. Nevertheless, she 
was driven and focused and graduated as valedictorian from Charles H. 
Darden High School in 1938. Mrs. Howard attended Hunter College in New 
York City where she earned both her bachelor and masters degree in 
education.
  She taught for nearly 30 years as a first grade teacher in New York. 
While there, she worked in the New York City American Negro Theater, 
which helped start the careers of Sidney Poitier, Harry Belafonte, 
Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee and Esther Rolle. There she honed her acting, 
directing and writing talent, finding a voice through her art. Her Off 
Broadway play The Passing of a Dinosaur is still performed today in 
local schools.
  Upon her retirement, Mrs. Howard returned to Wilson to lead the 
Christian Education Department of the St. John AME Zion Church. Her 
enthusiasm for education and the church inspired many of the youth of 
the community. Along with many other projects, Mrs. Howard founded the 
Youth Enrichment Program with Dr. JoAnne Woodard in 1989, and focused 
the program on lasting scholarship, a commitment to the cultural 
heritage of African Americans, and promoting the arts. Bibi Howard's 
tireless work to enrich the community inspired Dr. JoAnne Howard to 
create the one of the first public charter schools in the state, and 
the only public charter school in Wilson, the Sallie B. Howard School 
for the Arts & Education. The school, along with the Youth Enrichment 
Program, has been an invaluable asset to our community.
  Madam Speaker, in honor and recognition of Mrs. Sallie Baldwin 
Howard's diligent service as an educator and leader, I ask my 
colleagues to join me in paying tribute to this great woman.

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