[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 9286-9287]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING PONSIE BARCLAY HILLMAN

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 29, 2014

  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Ponsie B. Hillman, 
an educator, an advocate, and pioneer in the civil rights and labor 
movements. Her life was defined by a love for education and driven by 
the staunch determination to share it. She passed away on June 26, 
2008, but her legacy remains vivid.
  Ms. Hillman was born in Maryland, October 7, 1918. The determination 
and success that characterized her early education would foreshadow her 
later success. She battled overwhelming social odds by prioritizing her 
schooling and pulling ahead of her peers. During Ms. Hillman's senior 
year, she received the highest grade in the county on the state exam. 
She supported herself through college on scholarships and summer jobs, 
graduating from Morgan State College in 1939.
  Ms. Hillman moved to Philadelphia in 1948. She taught business at 
Vaux High School for 6 years before taking a post as a mathematics 
teacher at Roosevelt Junior High. She spent her summers furthering her 
own education by taking classes at Columbia University, earning a 
Masters in Mathematics and Education. Never ceasing to take every 
opportunity to learn, she continued attending classes at Sarah Lawrence 
College where she was able to offer her children their first view of 
higher education. She also studied Intergroup Education at the 
University of Pennsylvania.
  In 1959, Prince Edward County, VA, had closed its public schools to 
avoid court ordered integration. Ponsie Hillman arrived in the summer 
of 1963 to partake in the United Federation of Teacher's effort to 
establish Freedom Schools. She volunteered as a teacher for those 
students no longer able to receive an education. She was greeted with 
hostility from those who did not understand integration and from those 
who refused to accept change. Using the local church for classroom 
space, Ms. Hillman was successful in providing quality education to 
over 600 students that summer. She received an American Federation of 
Teachers award for her work at the Freedom Schools in Prince Edward 
County.
  In addition to her selfless dedication to educating others, Ms. 
Hillman's contributions to the education community matched her 
passionate appetite for learning. She became an integral part of the 
community and consistently fought for teachers' rights, fair wages, and 
higher quality teaching. She won the NAACP's highest individual award 
for outstanding achievement as a teacher and was named a lifetime 
member. Ms. Hillman completed a 5-year term as a delegate to the 
national convention of the American Federation of Teachers where she 
served on the executive board, sharing her experience and cultivating 
ways to combat national education challenges. During her tenure, she 
organized the Afro-American Heritage Committee, the Asian American 
Committee, and initiated United Federation of Teachers summer camps. 
She was noted for her solidarity to the Union and her commitment to 
serving the community of educators.
  I am pleased to honor Ponsie B. Hillman for her unceasing efforts and 
outstanding progress in working to make education equitable and 
attainable for all students. Her legacy in Prince Edward County and her 
mark on the national education system will inspire generations to come.

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