Title...
Proclamation honoring in memoriam Thelma Lovette, civil rights pioneer and community activist.
Body...
WHEREAS, Allegheny County is blessed with individuals dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in our neighborhood and the community as a whole; such as the late Thelma Lovette, civil rights pioneer and community activist; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Lovette, born on February 28, 1916, was the fifth of 11 children; She grew up on Wylie Avenue in the Hill District with her father, Henry M. Williams, one of the first African American registered plumbers in the city, and her mother, Alice Johnson, a homemaker; Her brother, Robert "Pappy" Williams became the first African American police magistrate in Pittsburgh and the first African American ward chair in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Lovette graduated from Schenley High School in 1934; She worked full-time while attending the University of Pittsburgh to pursue bachelor's and master's degrees in social work; Ms. Lovette became the first African American social worker at Mercy Hospital and retired as supervisor of social workers after more than 15 years with the hospital; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Lovette held on to her bus ticket from her trip to Washington, D.C., where she participated in the 1963 March on Washington; That ticket which noted riders would be picked up from "Freedom Corner," was one of the first written evidence of a corner at Centre Avenue and Crawford Street in the Hill District that now holds a civil rights monument; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Lovette was the first African American to serve on the YMCA's board of management, and also served for years on the Pittsburgh Planning Commission; In April 2012, her decades of service to the YMCA and her community culminated in the newest Hill District branch, the Thelma Lovette YMCA, being named in her honor;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that Allegheny County Council does hereby honor in memoriam Thelma Lovette, and while we mourn the loss of a great leader, we will always remember her significant contributions and caring spirit.