[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 179 (Friday, November 25, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LIFE OF DR. TERESA P. HUGHES

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 25, 2011

  Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues 
Congressman Berman, Congresswoman Bass of California, Congresswoman 
Waters, Congresswoman Hahn, and Congresswoman Richardson, to honor the 
extraordinary life of Dr. Teresa Hughes, the trailblazing Democratic 
state senator and assemblywoman who spent 25 years in the California 
Legislature championing education policy and reform. As the second 
African American woman ever elected to the Legislature, Dr. Hughes 
broke barriers for women and people of color during a long career 
marked by astute leadership and tireless advocacy. Dr. Hughes and her 
husband of 30 years, Dr. Frank Staggers, Sr., have been stalwart 
members of the Bay Area and Los Angeles communities for many years. 
With her passing on November 13, 2011, we are reminded of the joy Dr. 
Hughes inspired and the powerful legacy of her life's work.
  Born in New York City on October 3, 1931, Dr. Hughes grew up in 
Harlem and earned a bachelor's degree in physiology and public health 
from Hunter College. After earning her master's in education 
administration from New York University, she completed a doctorate in 
education administration at Claremont Graduate School. A former New 
York social worker, teacher and school administrator, Dr. Hughes moved 
to Los Angeles in 1969 to finish her doctorate. She worked as an 
assistant professor of education at California State Los Angeles, and 
briefly as an assistant to then State Senator Mervyn Dymally.
  In 1975, she was elected to California's 47th Assembly District, 
representing the greater Los Angeles area. Just one of three women in 
the 120-member Legislature at the time, and one of only seven African 
Americans, Dr. Hughes spent the next 17 years fighting for education 
and social justice initiatives. She authored an Assembly bill 
dedicating $800 million in bond money for school construction and the 
creation of a California School of the Arts. In 1982, she authored a 
bill that established the Cooperative Agencies Resources for Education, 
CARE, program, of which now there are 113 programs throughout the state 
serving low-income individuals and families. And in 1983, while 
chairing the Assembly Education Committee, she co-authored an education 
bill that set state graduation standards, raised teacher salaries and 
requirements, and lengthened the school day and year. She also wrote a 
bill that established the California Museum of Afro-American History 
and Culture within the Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles.
  When, in 1985, the Joint Rules Committee formally recognized the new 
bipartisan Caucus of Women Legislators, comprising just 15 women state 
lawmakers in office, Dr. Hughes was selected to chair the caucus as the 
most senior woman legislator. And, after Dr. Hughes was elected to the 
25th Senate District in 1992, she established the Senate Select 
Committee on College Admission and Outreach and wrote a school violence 
prevention bill that led to the Task Force on School Safety. Before she 
was termed out in 2000, the ever-pioneering Dr. Hughes became the first 
woman and first African American to serve on the Senate Rules 
Committee.
  A member of many associations throughout her distinguished career, 
Dr. Hughes founded Aware Women of California, was a member of the Los 
Angeles County High School for the Arts Board of Trustees, was 
Legislative Consultant for the State Commission for Teacher Preparation 
and Licensing and, until just recently, was a member of the Nehemiah 
Corporation of America Board of Directors. Her namesake was dedicated 
to the Teresa Hughes Elementary School in 1988.
  Today, California's 9th, 28th, 33rd, 35th, 36th and 37th 
Congressional Districts salute and honor a friend and an outstanding 
human being, Dr. Teresa P. Hughes. The State of California is truly 
indebted to her many civic contributions over the years. Our thoughts 
are with Dr. Staggers, Sr., their family, and Teresa's extended group 
of loved ones as we celebrate her incredible life. May she rest in 
peace.