[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 34 (Friday, February 28, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E277]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING ANITA BLEDSOE-COVINGTON

                                  _____
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 28, 2014

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
extraordinary Black History honoree, Mrs. Anita Bledsoe-Covington.
  Raised in Grenada County, MS, Mrs. Anita Bledsoe-Covington is known 
within the community for her entrepreneurship and an active member of 
the community. Born 9th out of 11 children of the late Icy Bell and 
Willie Sykes, the family had made strides of their own. Her mother, Ms. 
Icy Bell, was the head cook of a prestigious and all white restaurant, 
Monte Cristo, of Grenada, MS from 1963 until the year she passed 1973. 
Ms. Juanita Sykes, Mrs. Bledsoe-Covington's twin sister, marched with 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he made his way through the south in 
1967. And for her courage and civil defiance, she was arrested and 
jailed for this act.
  With her three children, Mrs. Bledsoe-Covington moved to Yalobusha 
County in 1973. This move would be the first of many for Mrs. Anita 
Bledsoe-Covington. In 1978, she became the first black female delegate 
for the Mississippi Democratic Convention in Jackson, MS, as a 
representative for Yalobusha County.
  During 1982 Mrs. Bledsoe-Covington opened Nita's Beauty Salon making 
her a staple in serving her community as a business woman. The salon 
earned Mrs. Anita numerous accolades as a beautician and entrepreneur. 
By 1986, she was the first black chairman of the Title I program for 
the Coffeeville School District as an active parent. As the 90's rolled 
in, Mrs. Anita was elected the first female Trustee of Coffeeville 
School Board District from 1991 through 1998. She also was hired as the 
first black female city clerk for the town of Oakland, MS in 1991.
  During this time, the beginning of her career as a teacher with the 
Institution of Community Service head start program. Although she had 
already started her career as an early childhood school teacher, Mrs 
Bledsoe-Covington graduated from Coahoma Community College with an 
associate in early childhood education in 2003.
  By 2005, in the same field, she earned her B.S. from Mississippi 
Valley State University. Coming full circle, 2010, Can's Chapel CME 
Church honored Mrs. Bledsoe-Covington as an unsung hero for Succeeding 
against the Odds during their Black History program. In 2012, she has 
obtained the Dean and President Certificate from the National Baptist 
Congress of Christian Education.
  Now married at the age of 60 and with 10 grandchildren and 1 great-
grandchild later, when asked if it was her agenda to create Black 
History, her response was, ``I've always accepted challenge and I guess 
maybe I did! I wanted to see if I could make a difference.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mrs. Anita 
Bledsoe-Covington for her quest in being a part of making history.

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