[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 108 (Tuesday, June 24, 2025)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E613-E614]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF VERNIS JACKSON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHRIS PAPPAS

                            of new hampshire

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 24, 2025

  Mr. PAPPAS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of 
Mrs. Vernis Marie Miller Jackson of Portsmouth, New Hampshire--a 
pioneering educator, visionary community leader, and lifelong champion 
for civil rights, culture, and historical preservation.
  Born in Waycross, Georgia, Vernis' father, Bishop Clinton Miller, and 
mother, Lossie Butler Miller Randall, immediately moved their baby 
daughter to Savannah, Georgia, where she would grow up, attending 
Florence Street Elementary School and Savannah State College before 
receiving her degree from the University of New Hampshire.
  In 1963, Vernis and her husband, Emerald, a sergeant in the United 
States Air Force, relocated with their two young daughters from 
Savannah to Pease Air Force Base in Newington, New Hampshire, later 
moving to Portsmouth, where she would remain for the rest of her life. 
For 35 of those years, Mrs. Jackson served as a beloved teacher in the 
Portsmouth School Department, where her dedication to young people left 
an indelible mark on generations of students. Yet her contributions to 
our community extended far beyond the classroom.
  Vernis served on a task force for the Equity in Mathematics Education 
Leadership Institute, sharing the program citywide with students and 
parents. She helped charter an African American women's organization, 
named Kwanza, which provided scholarships for local students. She was 
also a charter member of The Greater Springfield, Massachusetts Chapter 
of The Links, Inc., a national women's organization, where she achieved 
Platinum status. Mrs. Jackson was a member of the Jonquil Garden Club, 
a lifetime member of the NAACP, the National Education Association, the 
New Hampshire Retired Teachers Association, the Crossroads Bridge Club, 
Friends of Portsmouth Library, and the Portsmouth College Women's Club. 
Vernis was a member of the Portsmouth Athenaeum and served a three-year 
term at the Currier Museum of Art and Seacoast Leadership Group. Vernis 
and her beloved husband, Emerald, also served together for 21 years on 
the board of the Salvation Army.
  In 2000, she co-founded the Seacoast African American Cultural Center 
(SAACC), an institution dedicated to celebrating and preserving the 
contributions of African Americans in the Seacoast region and beyond. 
Under her leadership as president and later president emeritus, the 
SAACC blossomed into a vital cultural hub, curating exhibitions, 
hosting performances and lectures, offering scholarships, and bringing 
generations together through history and art.
  Perhaps one of her most enduring legacies is her work at the 
Portsmouth African Burying Ground Memorial Park. After the discovery of 
the burial site in 2003, Mrs. Jackson became chair of the African 
Burying Ground Committee, guiding a multi-year effort to honor those 
interred in what is now recognized as New England's only known African 
burying ground dating back to the 1700s. Thanks to her leadership, the 
memorial park was completed and formally dedicated in 2015--a sacred 
space that invites reflection, remembrance, and justice.
  Mrs. Jackson continued her decades-long fight for equity, education, 
and civil rights, and her tireless work earned her recognition across 
the state, including as a ``Local Hero'' by New Hampshire Magazine, 
where she was praised for bridging generations and inspiring others 
through action and service. She has been recognized as a Paul Harris 
Fellow, a Granite-Stater of the month, and has been presented with both 
the Martin Luther King, Jr., ``Living the Dream Award,'' and the 
``Spirit of the Prince Hall'' award. She was also a recipient of the 
City of Portsmouth Mayor's Award for her 11 years of service on the 
African Burying Grounds Committee.
  Vernis Marie Miller Jackson passed away in February 2025 at the age 
of 92. Though she is no longer with us, her legacy lives on through the 
institutions she built, the lives she shaped, and the history she 
preserved for future generations.
  I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Vernis Jackson for her 
extraordinary life of service and leadership. May we carry forward

[[Page E614]]

her example of dignity, compassion, and commitment to justice.

                          ____________________