[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 5094-5095]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING GWENDOLYN NERO LOPER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 15, 2015

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mrs. 
Gwendolyn Nero Loper, the daughter of the late Malinda and Willis Nero, 
who graduated from Greenwood High School in 1946. She attended Tougaloo 
College from 1948 to 1952 graduating cum laude with a degree in 
sociology. She received a Master of Social Work degree from Howard 
University in 1955. She became one of the first Black social workers in 
Mississippi with a graduate social work degree.
  This honoree's work experience as a social worker includes seven 
years with the Department of Human Services (the Welfare Department) 
and in 1966 she became the first Black social worker, employed with the 
Veterans Administration. After working thirty years at the V. A. 
Medical Center, she retired in 1995. She then worked four years as 
Field Instructor at Jackson State University in the School of Social 
Work's Master of Social Work Program.
  Mrs. Loper's dedication to the field of social work earned several 
``firsts'' to be recognized. These include: the first black woman 
appointed to the Mississippi Board of Mental Health, to represent the 
social work profession by Governor William Waller in 1974; she was 
reappointed by Governors William Winter and Bill Allain. She served in 
this position until 1994. On February 17, 1995, the Mississippi State 
Board of Mental Health named the Administration Building at the 
Hudspeth Regional Center in Whitfield, Mississippi, the Gwendolyn Nero 
Loper Administration Building. This, too, was the first time a building 
had been named in honor of a social worker in the State of Mississippi.
  Among Mrs. Loper's other community involvements are the following: 
charter member of the Jackson National Council of Negro Women; past 
president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and YWCA; life memberships--the 
NAACP, National Council of Negro Women, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, 
Inc., and Tougaloo National Alumni Association. She is the recipient of 
numerous awards and honors. Included are: Delta Woman of the Year 
(1965); Tougaloo Alumna of the Year (1975); Mississippi Chapter Social 
Worker of the Year (1976); Black Women's Political Action Community 
Service Award (1990); Howard University School of Social Work 
Outstanding Alumna (1998); Tougaloo Hall of Fame (1992); the Tougaloo 
Meritorious Leadership Award (2003); and the Outstanding Greenwoodian 
in Community Service Award (1998). She is active in her church, Farish 
Street Baptist, and the Jackson Chapter of the Links, Inc. She enjoys 
spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mrs. 
Gwendolyn Nero Loper for giving back to the community.

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