[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 27, 2015)]
[House]
[Page H621]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           HONORING WILHELMINA HENRY, A PIONEER IN EDUCATION

  (Mr. McNERNEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McNERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a pioneer in 
education, Ms. Wilhelmina Henry, who will be 95 years old this month. 
Ms. Henry is Stockton, California's, first Black teacher.
  Born in South Carolina, she graduated from high school at the age of 
16 and went on to earn a degree from the Tuskegee Institute--one of our 
country's oldest and most prestigious Historically Black Colleges. She 
began her teaching career after World War II in segregated schools in 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama before moving to Stockton in 1947.
  Though she faced discrimination and resistance, Ms. Henry persevered 
with courage and dignity, retiring after almost 50 years of educating 
our children. Her legacy is carried on by both her daughter, Rachelle 
Mimms, who is also a Stockton teacher, and at the Stockton elementary 
school that is named in her honor.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing Ms. Henry's courage in 
breaking the color barrier for teachers and in paving the way for many 
others who have followed in her footsteps.

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