[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 13, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   SPECIAL TRIBUTE CELEBRATING THE UNVEILING OF PONSIE B. HILLMAN WAY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 13, 2017

  Mr. NADLER. Mr. Speaker, the newly-christened Ponsie B. Hillman Way 
in Manhattan's Upper West Side celebrates a woman who dedicated her 
life to social justice. This well-deserving recognition will honor the 
indelible impact Mrs. Hillman left on New York and underserved 
communities around the country.
  Having faced personal discrimination as a young African-American 
teacher in Maryland, Mrs. Hillman's earliest activism in the 1940s and 
1950s focused on education equity. After Prince Edward County, Virginia 
closed its schools in an attempt to evade desegregation orders 
following the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education ruling, Mrs. 
Hillman traveled to Virginia with the American Federation of Teachers 
to teach students without pay.
  After moving to New York City in 1965, Mrs. Hillman immediately 
stepped into multiple community organizing roles. She was elected to 
the Executive Board of the NAACP in Manhattan, and worked on affordable 
housing, education, and health projects. Mrs. Hillman also served as a 
leader of the local labor movement. As a member of the New York City 
Central Labor Council's Black Trade Unionist Leader Committee, Mrs. 
Hillman dedicated many years of hard work to increasing leadership 
opportunities for African-Americans in their union branches. Over the 
course of her life, Mrs. Hillman was recognized for her activism by the 
U.S. Secretary of Labor, American Federation of Teachers, and the New 
York City Central Labor Council, among others.
  I am incredibly proud to represent so many institutions and community 
groups that were the recipients of Mrs. Hillman's service. The renaming 
of West 71st Street and Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side, Mrs. 
Hillman's long-time neighborhood, will stand as a testament to her 
important work as an educator, civil rights activist, and New York 
communal leader. I wish her family heartfelt congratulations on this 
special occasion.

                          ____________________