[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15923]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THE MS. THERESA A. MANUEL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. KATHY CASTOR

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 6, 2016

  Ms. CASTOR of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of 
an extraordinary Tampa resident and Olympian, Theresa A. Manuel. While 
Ms. Manuel competed internationally in track and field, her undying 
commitment to students at home as a teacher and coach may have had an 
even greater impact on the hearts of my neighbors across the Tampa Bay 
area.
  Despite growing up during segregation, Theresa Manuel persevered 
through adversity to become the first African-American woman from 
Florida to compete in the Olympic Games.
  Ms. Manuel was born in 1926 in Port Tampa City, Florida. As a young 
woman, she was a star basketball player at Middleton High School in 
Tampa. Ms. Manuel had such a love for basketball that she would often 
convince neighbors to set up lamps at night so she and her teammates 
could practice on the outdoor court near Middleton High. She attended 
the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University in Alabama, where she 
was affectionately nicknamed ``Trick Shot'' for her skill in basketball 
and in addition won multiple championships for the Tuskegee Track and 
Field team. In the summer before her senior year, Ms. Manuel made 
history by competing as a member of the U.S. Track and Field team at 
the 1948 Olympic Games in London. She competed in the Olympics at a 
time when sports were not widely considered open to women, let alone 
black women. She represented her country with dignity and grace, and 
upon returning home she and her team proudly celebrated their success 
with President Harry Truman at the White House.
  After graduating from Tuskegee, Ms. Manuel moved back to Tampa to 
care for her ailing mother and began her 38 year career as a decorated 
teacher and coach. She was a legendary coach in Tampa. She led her 
teams to multiple state championships and was named the best coach in 
the Hillsborough County in 1975, and subsequently the best in the state 
of Florida in 1976. Ms. Manuel continued to garner countless honors and 
awards throughout her distinguished lifetime. Some of those honors 
include being inducted into the Tuskegee Institute Hall of Fame and 
City of Tampa Hall of Fame and being named one of the ``100 
Distinguished Women of Hillsborough County.''
  Ms. Manuel's importance to the African-American community in Florida 
and indeed all Floridians transcends even her many accomplishments in 
sport. Most importantly, she will always be remembered as a great 
leader and giant matriarchal figure to the thousands of students whose 
lives she touched. She was a champion in all facets of life. On 
November 21st, 2016, Ms. Manuel passed away at the age of 90 in Tampa, 
Florida.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of the Tampa Bay community, I 
am proud to honor Ms. Theresa A. Manuel for her lifelong service and 
inspirational life.

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