[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 55 (Monday, March 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E262-E263]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING THE SCHOOL RENAMING IN HONOR OF THE LATE MRS. ROSE MARY 
                             BILLIPS LOVING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TROY A. CARTER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, March 27, 2023

  Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to pay tribute to 
an outstanding, cherished public servant from my home State of 
Louisiana. Mrs. Rose Mary Loving, born Rose Mary Billips, was the first 
African-American woman elected to the Orleans Parish School Board and 
served from 1977 to 1989. Mrs. Loving was elected board president in 
1982, 1983 and 1985. She was also a former director of the Algiers-
Fischer Community Center.
  Even before her election to the board, Mrs. Loving was involved with 
the public schools for two decades as a committed parent and was also 
active in Chapter 1, a federal program providing remedial education to 
schools in low-income areas.
  At her last board meeting, she was honored by school officials, 
employees and other well-wishers. Mrs. Loving pointed out her 15-year-
old granddaughter in the audience to show that she had a special reason 
to stay involved with the schools. ``I'm not going very far,'' she 
said. This weekend, we continue to recognize Mrs. Rose Mary's 
unwavering commitment and numerous contributions to the school system, 
naming a local elementary school in her honor.
  Nearly a year ago, New Orleans Public School System responded to 
public requests to rename school facilities. This renaming is in 
accordance with policy approved by the Orleans Parish School Board to 
ensure school facilities do not have names honoring figures from our 
painful past. The board believed all schools should be welcoming, 
inclusive, and inspiring places for all students. The goal was to 
ensure the names of these physical school facilities and the people 
that we honor reflect the values of the school district, like Mrs. 
Loving did throughout her life and her time serving on the board.
  As their policy states, the OPSB is fundamentally opposed to 
retaining names of school facilities named after persons who were slave 
owners, confederate officials, or segregation supporters.
  After months of public input, hundreds of name considerations and 
historical research, the Orleans Parish School Board unanimously voted 
and approved NOLA Public Schools list of recommendations for the 
renaming of several public-school buildings.
  The District received more than 250 name recommendations that were 
vetted and considered. Mrs. Rose Mary Loving's name is replacing Martin 
Behrman, a former slave

[[Page E263]]

owner, and she is one of 24 selected honorees that are now listed as 
the historic names of school properties.
  Mrs. Lovings dedication to her community is evident through the many 
accolades she was awarded in her lifetime. A longtime volunteer and 
community activist, Mrs. Loving was known for her work with the elderly 
and low-income families. She was the first president of the 
Metropolitan School Boards Association. She was a two-term member of 
the city's Human Relations Committee and served on former Mayor Ernest 
N. ``Dutch'' Morial's commission to chart a course for the city's 
future. She was a co-founder of the Emergency Fund for United Churches 
of Algiers, and in 1982 she received the Torch of Liberty Award from 
the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.
  Mrs. Loving was a former member of the deaconess board at St. Stephen 
Missionary Baptist Church in Algiers. Rose Mary was even awarded an 
honorary Doctor of Education by Xavier University of Louisiana.
  Rose Mary Loving was born in Kenner and lived in Algiers at the time 
of her passing. Her impact in this community throughout her 82 years of 
life continues to be felt still to this day.
  I am honored to have personally known Mrs. Rose Mary Loving. I am 
especially humbled knowing that her name will be honored on a school 
within Louisiana's Second Congressional District.

                          ____________________