WHEREAS, Jessie M. Rattley, for 20 years a pioneering political leader in the City of Newport News, died on March 2, 2001; and
WHEREAS, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, Jessie Rattley graduated from Fairfield High School in 1947, then entered Hampton Institute, from which she graduated with honors in 1951; and
WHEREAS, Jessie Rattley began her teaching career at Huntington High School, then, in 1952, founded the Peninsula Business College, which provided an opportunity for young people and adults to be trained for success in the business world; and
WHEREAS, in seeking employment opportunities for her students, Jessie Rattley began her lifelong commitment to civil rights, political involvement, and public service; and
WHEREAS, in 1970, Jessie Rattley became the first African-American and the first woman to be elected to the Newport News City Council, and she followed up that stunning victory by winning the highest vote totals in her reelection campaigns in 1974, 1978, 1982, and 1986; and
WHEREAS, in 1976, Jessie Rattley was elected vice-mayor of Newport News and in 1986, at the time of her reelection to her fifth term in office, she was elected mayor, the first African-American and the first woman to hold that position; and
WHEREAS, continuing her trailblazing ways at the state and national levels, Jessie Rattley became the first African-American elected president of the Virginia Municipal League and was the first African-American and the first woman elected president of the National League of Cities, which represents more than 15,000 municipalities across the country; and
WHEREAS, during her distinguished career in public service, Jessie Rattley served on innumerable committees, commissions, task forces, and delegations at the state, national, and international levels; and
WHEREAS, for her outstanding service to Newport News, the Commonwealth, and the nation, Jessie Rattley was honored by, among many others, the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Old Dominion University, Hampton University, the NAACP, and the National Conference of Christians and Jews; and
WHEREAS, in 1990, Jessie Rattley returned to her career as an educator, first as a fellow at the Institute of Politics, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and then at her alma mater, Hampton University, where she was serving as a senior lecturer in the political science department at the time of her death; and
WHEREAS, over the course of a truly extraordinary career of public service, Jessie Rattley served a number of constituencies with honor, dignity, effectiveness, and singular devotion; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of a pioneering Newport News political leader, Jessie M. Rattley; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Jessie M. Rattley as an expression of the General Assembly's deep and abiding respect for her lifetime of service to the citizens of Virginia.
Posted By: Joah King
Thursday, March 2nd 2006 at 1:18AM
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