[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 153 (Thursday, September 18, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H4418-H4419]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING VERONICA PITTS

  (Ms. Sewell of Alabama was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. SEWELL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to congratulate an extraordinary 
educator from my hometown of Selma, Alabama, Ms. Veronica Pitts, of 
Selma High School, for being named the National Civics Teacher of the 
Year by the Bill of Rights Institute.
  Each year, only one teacher in the Nation is selected to receive this 
prestigious honor, and I am thrilled that, this year, the teacher hails 
from Alabama's Seventh Congressional District.
  Ms. Pitts exemplifies the very best of what it means to be an 
educator and a public servant. With a deep passion for education and 
tireless commitment to her students, she has dedicated her career to 
teaching not just government and economics but the importance of civic 
engagement and community leadership.
  Through her engaging lessons, Ms. Pitts has helped her students 
understand that democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires 
informed, empowered, and active participants. Her classroom is a place 
where students don't just learn about the government. They learn about 
their role in shaping it.
  As the daughter of two lifelong educators who worked at Selma High 
School for over 36 years, I know firsthand the transformational power 
of good education, especially good education in Selma. I have seen what 
our students can do and achieve with the help of amazing teachers and 
wonderful role models.
  Teachers like Ms. Pitts do more than prepare young people for tests. 
They

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prepare them for life. They nurture curiosity, instill core values, and 
light the spark of leadership that will carry students far beyond the 
school walls.
  Located less than 2 miles up the road from the historic Edmund Pettus 
Bridge, it is only befitting that from Selma High School would emerge a 
teacher who is building the next generation of civic leaders, 
activists, and change agents.
  After all, it was the people of Alabama's Seventh Congressional 
District that brought us the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting 
Rights Act of 1965. These were ordinary Americans who dared to make 
this Nation live up to its highest ideals of equality and justice for 
all.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Alabama's Seventh Congressional District, I 
ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Veronica Pitts. We are 
all so proud of her, and we are grateful for the work that she does 
each and every day to create opportunities for our students to thrive.

                          ____________________