My Black History-Patricia Roberts Harris

Patricia Roberts Harris was the second cousin of my grandmother.

Patricia Roberts Harris (May 31, 1924 – March 23, 1985) served as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and United States Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (which office later became United States Secretary of Health and Human Services) in the administration of President Jimmy Carter. She was the first African American woman to serve as a United States Ambassador, representing the U.S. in Luxembourg under President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the first to enter the line of succession to the Presidency.

Patricia Roberts was born in Mattoon, Illinois, and was the daughter of a railroad dining car waiter. She graduated summa cum laude from Howard University in 1945. While at Howard, she was elected Phi Beta Kappa, and she also participated in one of the nation's first lunch counter sit-ins, in 1943. There she met William Beasley Harris, a member of the Howard law faculty; they were married in 1955. She did postgraduate work at the University of Chicago and at American University in 1949. Until 1953, she worked as Assistant Director of the American Council on Human Rights. She was the first national executive of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, of which she was a member.[citation needed] Roberts later received her J.D. from the George Washington University National Law Center in 1960, ranking number one out of a class of 94.

Attorney Harris worked briefly for the U.S. Department of Justice before returning, in 1961, to Howard University as an associate dean of students and law lecturer at Howard's law school. In 1963, she was elevated to a full professorship and, in 1969, she was named Dean of Howard University's School of Law.

Her first position with the U.S. government was as an attorney in the appeals and research section of the criminal division of the Department of Justice in 1960. There she met and struck up a friendship with Robert Kennedy, the new attorney general. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy appointed her co-chairman of the National Women's Committee for Civil Rights.

In 1964, Patricia Harris was elected a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from the District of Columbia. She worked in Lyndon Johnson's presidential campaign and seconded his nomination at the 1964 Democratic Convention. Soon after his victory, President Johnson appointed her Ambassador to Luxembourg from 1965 to 1967. Following her service as Dean of Howard's School of Law from 1969 to 1972, she joined one of Washington, D.C.'s most prestigious law firms.

In 1971, Harris was named a director of IBM. She was the first African American woman to serve on the board.

She continued making an impact on the Democratic Party when, in 1972, she was appointed chairman of the credentials committee and a member-at-large of the Democratic National Committee in 1973. A testimony to her effectiveness and her commitment to excellence came when President Jimmy Carter appointed her to two cabinet-level posts during his administration.

Harris was appointed to the cabinet of President Jimmy Carter when he took office in 1977. She thus became the first African American woman to enter the Presidential line of succession, at number 13. Between 1977 and 1979 she served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and in 1979, she became Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare.

After the Department of Education Organization Act came into force on May 4, 1980, the educations functions of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare were transferred to the Department of Education. Harris remained as Secretary of the renamed Department of Health and Human Services until Carter left office in 1981. Because the department had merely changed names, as opposed to disbanding with new department being created, she did not face Senate confirmation again after the change.

Harris unsuccessfully ran for Mayor of Washington, D.C., in 1982, losing the September 14 primary election that year to incumbent mayor Marion Barry. That year, she was appointed a full-time professor at the George Washington National Law Center, a position she served in until her death from breast cancer on March 23, 1985, at the age of 60. She is interred at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

My Black History-Tony Galbreath

I can't even remember the first time I met Tony.  He stopped through at our family reunion in Fulton, Missouri.  Tony is a first cousin to my cousins and always tries to make our family events.  It wasn't until recently that I found out that a friend and former P.E. teacher went to college and played football with him at the University of Missouri.

He's a real sweetheart, even if he did play for the Saints (I kid! I kid!)

Tony Dale Galbreath (born January 24, 1954 in Fulton, Missouri) is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints, the Minnesota Vikings, and the New York Giants. He played college football at the University of Missouri and was drafted in the second round of the 1976 NFL Draft.

Tony Galbreath was an All-Big Eight running back for the Missouri Tigers in 1974. He was elected team captain for the 1975 season. He still ranks among the Tigers' all-time leading rushers, despite the fact that he played just two years of football after transferring from Indian Hill (Iowa) Junior College.

Galbreath was a rookie in 1976 with the New Orleans Saints and was part of the "Thunder and Lightning" backfield along with Saints' first round pick Chuck Muncie. Galbreath quickly became one of the top pass-catching running backs in the NFL. As a rookie, he was the NFL's sixth leading receiver. In 1978, his third season with the Saints, he finished second in the NFL in receiving. He played with the Saints for five seasons, and when he left the Saints, he was #2 in all-time rushing yards for the team.

Galbreath was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 1981. He played three years for the Vikings, primarily as a pass-catching back and blocker. He went to the New York Giants in 1984, essentially fulfilling the same role. He played four seasons with the Giants, including the 1986 season in which the Giants won the Super Bowl and Tony was the team's second leading receiver. He retired after the 1987 season as the most prolific pass-catching running back in NFL history.

Galbreath was enshrined in the University of Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame in 1995. Galbreath was enshrined in the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame in 1991.

My Black History-Bonnie Guiton Hill

Bonnie is a second cousin on my father's side of the family. My grandfather and her mother were brother and sister. Cousin Bonnie, for as long as I can remember, has been on top of Corporate America. She has an awesome resume, sitting on many boards as a director.

Cousin Bonnie is the president of B. Hill Enterprises, LLC, a consulting firm specializing in corporate governance and board organization. She is also co-founder of Icon Blue, a brand marketing company.

From 1997 to 2001, she was president and CEO of Times Mirror Foundation and senior vice president, communications and public affairs, of The Los Angeles Times.

Prior to four years as Dean of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia (1993-96), Hill was a cabinet member serving California Governor Pete Wilson and Director of the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs in the George H.W. Bush administration. She later chaired the Consumer Affairs Advisory Board at the SEC.

She is a director of AK Steel Holdings Corp., Home Depot, Inc. and Yum Brands, Inc. She was formerly a director of Hershey Foods Corporation. She is a director of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation, a member of the Investors Advisory Group of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and trustee of the RAND Corporation.

In 1997, she was honored by Dominion, as a Strong Men and Women award recipient and they include the following biography on their site:

Bonnie Guiton Hill, Ph.D.

1997 Honoree

On July 1, 1992, Bonnie Guiton Hill became the third dean of the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia. Before joining the McIntire School of Commerce, Dean Hill was a member of Governor Pete Wilson's cabinet in California.

She served President Bush as Special Adviser for Consumer Affairs and Director of the United States Office of Consumer Affairs. Dr, Hill headed the Organization on Economic Cooperation and Development's Committee on Consumer Policy. During the Reagan administration, Dean Hill served as Assistant Secretary in the Department of Education and Vice-Chair of the Postal Rate Commission.

Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Dean Hill was a vice president with Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation in Oakland, California, having also served as Assistant Dean of Student Services and Lecturer at Mills College in Oakland, California.

Years ago, her teachers at McClymonds High School in Oakland, California may have had reservations about her chances to succeed, Hill persevered because several teachers including Ms. Powell, her English teacher, encouraged her to be strong and to stay in school.

Dean Hill received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Mills College, a master's in educational psychology from California State University at Hayward, and her doctorate in higher education from the University of California at Berkeley, Her dissertation analyzed a successful partnership between private industry and business education.

In 1971, during her first year at Mills College in California, her husband had a massive heart attack, and she nursed him back to health while working a full time job and caring for their infant daughter.

Hill remained in school and earned her bachelor's degree in three years, her masters degree the next year, and 10 years later her doctorate, Hill's colleagues describe her as an inspirational whirlwind.

She realizes that her success is living proof that "as a result of much support from friends and family, you can take a little black girl out of the streets of Oakland and find that she can successfully move in diplomatic circles at all levels, including the White House."

My Black History-Tonika Johnson

Tonika is the daughter of my former P.E. teacher. She was just a little tyke when I met her. We graduated from the same high school. I was very proud to see what she's become.

She was the first black female to graduate from Central Missouri State University with a B.S. degree in Aviation Technology. She has written a children's book about her job. Below is the biography that can be found on her site for the book http://www.nikkitheairlinepilot.com

I am a native of Springfield, Illinois. I became interested in aviation at a young age. My first flying lesson was during my senior year as a student at Southeast High School. Through a youth aviation program, I completed my first solo flight. Each summer while in college, I worked various internships with airlines and the Illinois Department of Transportation. The internships allowed me to promote aviation education.

In 1994, I became the first black female to graduate from Central Missouri State University with a B.S. degree in Aviation Technology. After graduation, I went to work for the Houston Airport Management System while working as a flight instructor for a small airport. In 2000, after earning numerous flight hours, I was hired by CC Air, Inc. The US Airways Express subsidiary gave me an opportunity to fly a19 passenger aircraft throughout the southeastern United States. Shortly after, I participated in the company's jet training program. Two years later, I became the first black female jet captain to work for the company and began flying 86 passenger jets throughout the United States. Advancement to Allegiant Airlines allowed me to fly a larger aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas (MD80), throughout the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.

In my spare time, I volunteer in many communities, promoting aviation education and participating in reading programs worldwide. "Nikki The Airline Pilot” was created after I became involved in a school’s “I Can Read Program.” The main objective of the book is to expose as many children as I can to aviation while emphasizing the importance of reading.

This one of a kind book is written for first and second graders. Although there is at least one non-fiction book in most school libraries that speak of Bessie Coleman, Amelia Earhart or the Tuskegee Airmen, this book gives the reader a glimpse of the main character (author) working on the job. To date, there are no other aviation books that have been written by a black female pilot discussing the day to day operations of a flight from a pilot’s perspective. As the book is distributed, the goal is to empower young people (especially girls) to seek people of character to identify with as they grow up. Hopefully, books such as “Nikki The Airline Pilot” will aid in developing positive, productive people.

A desire to see the world and make an impact by helping others inspired me to work as a jet captain in other places, like India and Africa. Currently I am flying in Africa. In addition, the second book of the "Nikki the Airline Pilot" series is scheduled to be published.