Patsy Jo Hilliard (b. (1937-08-20)August 20, 1937) is an African-American educator, education administrator, and the former mayor of East Point, Georgia. She was the first woman to be a member of the South San Francisco Unified School District and the first African-American woman mayor of East Point and the state of Georgia.
Hilliard, née Patsy Jo Morrison, was born in Denver, Colorado, to parents Elmer Dudley Morrison II and Jessie Morrison. In 1955, she and her future husband, Asa Grant Hilliard III, graduated from Manual High School. She continued her education at Los Angeles State College in 1956 while working as a playground supervisor for the LA school system.[1] Hilliard graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in interdisciplinary social sciences in 1976. In 2008, she was honored with an honorary doctorate from Sojourner–Douglass College.[2]
Career
In 1964, Hilliard worked as a first grade teacher at Bright Functions School in Monrovia, Liberia as a volunteer for the American Women in Liberia organization. In 1975, Hillard was the first African-American women to work as a board member for the South San Francisco Unified School District.[citation needed]
In 1993, Hilliard became the first woman and African-American to be elected as mayor in the city of East Point, Georgia and in the state of Georgia.[2] Hilliard served as mayor of East Point until 2006, longer than any other mayor of that town. Hilliard hosted the television talk show "In the Know with Patsy Jo" in 2007. She is now the CEO of Waset Educational Production Company, which she co-founded with her husband, and she runs Ancient African Study Tours, which offers educational tours to Egypt.[citation needed]
Hilliard has collaborated with a variety of groups throughout the course of her career, including the East Point Business Association, the Superintendents Advisory Board of the Fulton County School District, the Atlanta Airport Rotary Club, the Atlanta High Museum of Art, and the DeYoung Museum of Art.[3] She has served as President of the Atlanta chapter of Links, Inc. and the Atlanta Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority[4] She has also served on the Executive Board of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP.
Honors
Hilliard has earned many honors, including the SCLC's Drum Major for Justice Medal, the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority's Torch Award, and Alpha Kappa Alpha's Public Service Award.[2] She has been inducted into the Atlanta Business League Women's Hall of Fame and has been named one of the 100 Most Influential Black Women over the last six years. Hilliard was selected as being one of the six mayors from the United States to join the fourth Japan-US Mayors Friendship Exchange Conference.[4]
Personal life
Hillard was married to Asa Grant Hillard III, an African American historian, until his death in 2007. They shared four children (Asa IV, Robi, Patricia and Hakim) and eight grandchildren (Maia, Terry, T'Shaka, Foluke, Xavier, Dayo, Shaidah and Asa Pearl).
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. (ΔΣΘ) is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two women at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Membership is open to any woman, regardless of religion, race, or nationality. Women may apply to join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university or through an alumnae chapter after earning a college degree.
Alpha Delta Gamma (ΑΔΓ), commonly known as ADG, is an American Greek-letter Catholic social fraternity and one of 75 members of the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC). Based on Christian principles and the traditions of the Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church, Alpha Delta Gamma was founded at Loyola University Chicago on October 10, 1924, as a response to the unwillingness of most national fraternities to colonize at Catholic colleges and universities.
While the traditional social fraternity is a well-established mainstay across the United States at institutions of higher learning, alternatives – in the form of social fraternities that require doctrinal and behavioral conformity to the Christian faith – developed in the early 20th century. They continue to grow in size and popularity.
Asa G. Hilliard III, also known as Nana Baffour Amankwatia II, was an African-American professor of educational psychology who worked on indigenous ancient African history, culture, education and society. He was the Fuller E. Callaway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State University, with joint appointments in the Department of Education Policy Studies and the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education. Prior to his position at Georgia State, Hilliard served as the Dean of the School of Education at San Francisco State University in San Francisco, California.
Myra Lillian Davis Hemmings was an American actress and teacher, and a founder of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated.
Ethel Cuff Black was an American educator and one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta sorority. She was the first African-American school teacher in Richmond County, New York.
Winona Cargile Alexander was a founder of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Incorporated at Howard University on January 13, 1913. It was the second sorority founded by African-American women and was influential in women's building civic institutions and charities. In 1915, she was the first African-American admitted to the New York School of Philanthropy, where she received a graduate fellowship for her studies. She was the first African-American hired as a social worker in New York.
Osceola Marie Adams, known professionally by the stage name Osceola Archer, was one of the first Black actresses to appear on Broadway in Between Two Worlds in 1934. Speaking of Adams' decade-long role as director of some three dozen productions at the Putnam County Playhouse, actor Carl Harms noted she was likely also the first African-American director of summer stock.
Hortense (Golden) Canady was a civil rights leader, the first African American elected to the Lansing Board of Education. She served as national president of Delta Sigma Theta sorority from 1983-1988.
Geraldine Pittman Woods was an American science administrator. She is known for her lifelong dedication to community service and for establishing programs that promote minorities in STEM fields, scientific research, and basic research.
Pearlie Craft Dove was an African-American educator. Dove taught at Clark College and helped to improve the college's Education Department. Under her leadership, Clark College became the first private Historically Black College in Georgia to be accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Later, she aided in the consolidation of Clark College with Atlanta University in order to begin Clark Atlanta University. She was also elected to work at the policy making level of the Association of Teacher Educators (AATE) and the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE).
Vivian Osborne Marsh was an American clubwoman based in San Francisco, California. She was president of the California State Association of Colored Women, and national president of Delta Sigma Theta.
Frederica Chase Dodd was an American educator, social worker, and clubwoman, one of the founders of Delta Sigma Theta.
Naomi Sewell Richardson was an American educator and suffragist. She was a student co-founder of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the second sorority founded for and by African-American women.
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