ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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A CEREMONAL RESOLUTION
25-165
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
January 9, 2024
To recognize and honor the life and accomplishments of Dr. Berth a Holliday.
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was born in Kansas City, Missouri on November 15,
1947;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday walked her first picket line at age 4 to protest her
segregated Kindergarten class;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday attended the University of Chicago, where s he
graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in P sychology;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday attended Harvar d University where she g raduated with
an EdM in Counselor Education and School Counseling and Guidance Services, and obtained a
PhD in Community Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Lifespan
Development and Ecological Psychology at Cornell University;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was on the faculty of the Department of Psychology
and Human Development at Vanderbilt University;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was a community psychologist and known for her
activism on ethnic minority issues;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was Senior Director of the Office of Ethnic Minority
Affairs at the American Psychological Association and retired from the office in 2010 after 16
years of service;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was a Fellow of American Psychological Association’s
Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity & Race) and received the
Distinguished Career Contribution to Service Award in 2001;
ENROLLED ORIGINAL
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WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was awarded the Social Justice Action Award from the
Teachers College at Columbia University in 2011;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was a resident in the neighborhood of Bloomingdale in
Ward 5;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday was a Bloomingdale Civic Association Board member
for 13 years and served 3 consecutive terms (2017-2022) as an Advisory Neighborhood
Commissioner for 5E;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday founded and served as co- Director of the Bloomingdale
Civic Association’s Bloomingdale Village Square Project through which she helped produce a
Bloomingdale oral history film, a Bloomingdale history timeline, and an extensive Bloomingdale
design plan and recommendations report, and advocated for the advancement of the North
Capitol Street Deckover Park proposal;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday chaired several Bloomingdale House Tours which
functioned as fundraisers for the Bloomingdale Civic Association Scholarship Fund;
WHEREAS, Dr. Bertha Holliday passed on December 28, 2023 and leaves a legacy that
will live on for generations to come.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Dr. Bertha Holliday Posthumous Recognition Resolution of
2024”.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia honors Dr. Bertha Holliday for her years
of dedication to her community, family, and friends where she was a leader and pillar of the
community.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.