[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 105 (Friday, June 21, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E816]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING THE WORK OF WILLIAM HENRY SIMONS, III, AND THE WILLIAM HENRY 
                     SIMONS, III, SCHOLARSHIP FUND

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON

                      of the district of columbia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 21, 2019

  Ms. NORTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House of 
Representatives to join me in recognizing the work of William Henry 
Simons, III, and the William Henry Simons, III, Scholarship Fund.
  On Saturday, June 22, the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU), which 
represents educators in the District of Columbia's public schools, will 
re-name its scholarship fund the William Henry Simons, III, Scholarship 
Fund in honor of one of D.C.'s most important leaders, William Henry 
Simons, III, who passed away in 2016. This scholarship has been making 
contributions to the District of Columbia since 1974. The Scholarship 
Fund is dedicated to encouraging D.C.'s best and brightest students to 
pursue careers in education and support the next generation of D.C. 
teachers. I am particularly pleased and honored to offer this 
resolution not only because of Simons' much deserved merit as a teacher 
and a union leader but also because he was my history teacher when I 
attended Banneker High School here in the District.
  In 1972, WTU, under the leadership of Simons, called a strike of D.C. 
Public School teachers to protest pay and working conditions. The 
strike violated D.C. law prohibiting strikes by public employees, and a 
fine of $50,000 was imposed on the union. Simons asked the court to use 
the money to benefit D.C. public school students. The request went to 
the D.C. Superior Court, which in 1974, granted Simons his request. 
That was the beginning of the WTU Scholarship Fund Program. Since 1974, 
the Fund has awarded scholarships totaling more than $1,000,000 to over 
100 D.C. public school students.
  Simons was born in D.C. in 1924 and attended segregated D.C. public 
schools. In 1943, he interrupted his studies at Miner Teachers College 
to serve in World War II. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, as a sergeant major 
in the 262nd Quartermasters Battalion, Simons was one of the heroes who 
stormed Normandy and helped bring about the end of Nazi oppression. He 
was awarded the Bronze Star and the Croix de Guerre for his courage. 
After the war, Simons completed his education and began an 18-year 
career as a social studies teacher at Banneker Junior High in D.C.
  Simons was elected president of WTU in 1964 and served for a total of 
25 years. During his tenure as president, Simons was a champion of D.C. 
home rule and fought against plans that would have de facto re-
segregated D.C. schools. He was also a pioneer in fighting for 
educational equity and the right of every D.C. public school student to 
receive the educational opportunities they needed to succeed, 
regardless of their race, ethnicity, immigration status or economic 
circumstances.
  He was an observer at the first democratic elections in South Africa, 
a college lecturer, writer and consultant, and in 1995, he was 
appointed treasurer of the prestigious Association for the Study of 
African American Life and History, which was founded by the legendary 
historian Carter G. Woodson.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
commending and celebrating the life and legacy of William Henry Simons, 
III, and in congratulating the Washington Teachers' Union for re-naming 
its scholarship fund in his honor.

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