SR904: SR904 Veal I, Reverend Henry; honor

26 LC 112 3786 Senate Resolution 904 By: Senators Jones of the 10th, Rahman of the 5th, Harbison of the 15th, Merritt of the 9th, Mangham of the 55th and others A RESOLUTION Honoring The Masters of Education: Hidden Figures in Education lineage and its founder,1 Reverend Henry Veal I (1847-1919), for their historic contributions to the State of Georgia2 and their unparalleled global academic achievements; and for other purposes.3 WHEREAS, the foundations of this distinguished lineage were est ablished by Reverend4 Henry Veal I, a man of profound spiritual leadership and civic duty who, following the era5 of enslavement, took the 1867 Voter Registration Oath in Baldwin County; and6 WHEREAS, a pillar of the faith community, Reverend Veal served around 1870 as the likely7 first pastor of Oak Grove Baptist Church and gained prominence as a guest minister at8 Friendship Baptist Church during the 1882 Baptist Convention, which serves as the hallowed9 burial location of his distinguished descendants, including WWI Sgt. Henry Veal II, Rev.10 Henry Veal III, Annie V. Brooks, and Gladys V. Bolden; and11 WHEREAS, despite the catastrophic Baldwin County Tornado of 187 5, Reverend Veal12 demonstrated exceptional resilience, later becoming a mortgage broker agent to assist13 citizens in achieving homeownership and being recognized in 188 6 for a nine-acre potato14 crop projected to yield 1,000 bushels; and15 S. R. 904 - 1 - 26 LC 112 3786 WHEREAS, this lineage, now known as The Masters of Education: H idden Figures in16 Education, has achieved a statistical milestone unparalleled in Georgia history, evolving from17 a single ancestor to a global powerhouse of scholarship; and18 WHEREAS, the bedrock of this legacy was formed by the Veal Six siblings, all career19 educators who each dedicated a minimum of 22 years to the field , totaling 170 years of20 collective service to the children of Georgia and beyond; and21 WHEREAS, Milledgeville native Frank R. Veal (1913-1989) expande d this legacy to the22 highest levels of university administration and global leadership, serving as the President of23 Paul Quinn College and Allen University as well as as the Pasto r of the historic Emanuel24 AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina; and25 WHEREAS, Frank R. Veal's influence reached the national and international stages, serving26 as a leader at the national level of the NAACP and the internat ional level for the AME27 Church, and he notably hosted the 1949 Alpha Phi Alpha National Convention, which28 convened 2,200 members; and29 WHEREAS, during the era of mandated segregation, Annie Veal Brooks and Juanita Veal30 Madison navigated systemic barriers by utilizing "Negro Scholarships" from the University31 of Georgia Regents System to earn Ivy League postgraduate credentials; and32 WHEREAS, Annie Veal Brooks bridged the gap to the highest echel ons of academia by33 serving as the secretary in the office of Dr. Millie Almy at Columbia University (Teachers34 College) for a single summer while completing coursework and also attending specialized35 workshops from Dr. Almy at the University of Cincinnati for a single summer—a legacy of36 S. R. 904 - 2 - 26 LC 112 3786 Ivy League excellence that continues through her nephew, Michael E. Veal, a professor at37 Yale University; and38 WHEREAS, Mattye Veal Binion exemplified extraordinary resilienc e by earning her39 master's degree from the City University of New York (CUNY) dur ing this same period,40 achieving this academic milestone while managing the responsibi lities of marriage and41 motherhood, having begun her family at age 15; and42 WHEREAS, the family's academic trajectory reached a global zenith with Tresselyn Douglas43 Adams, a nine-degree alumnus of Georgia College & State University and a "Double Doctor"44 (D.N.P. and D.P.A.), who is recognized as the #1 Most Degreed African American Woman45 in the World and whose unprecedented achievement is currently b eing submitted to the46 Guinness Book of World Records; and47 WHEREAS, this legislative recognition builds upon Senate Resolution 343 (2011), which48 previously honored members of this family as the "Founders of Education in Georgia."49 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE that the members of this body50 honor the historic legacy of Reverend Henry Veal I and commend The Masters of Education:51 Hidden Figures in Education lineage for their world-class service to the State of Georgia and52 beyond.53 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is authorized and directed54 to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the family of The55 Masters of Education: Hidden Figures in Education.56 S. R. 904 - 3 -