ENROLLED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 11
BY REPRESENTATIVE JEFFERSON
A RESOLUTION
To commend the Pinkie C. Wilkerson Life Development Center and Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc., for remembering former state representative Pinkie Carolyn Wilkerson
on the twentieth anniversary of her tragic death.
WHEREAS, Pinkie Wilkerson is remembered as a truly committed public servant
to the citizens of Bienville, Claiborne, Lincoln, and Union parishes; and
WHEREAS, Pinkie graduated from Grambling State University Lab High School,
and she earned a bachelor of arts degree from Grambling State University and a master of
arts degree from Ohio University; she was a member of Moot Court and Law Review at
Southern University Law Center; in May 1979, she received her juris doctorate degree,
finishing at the top of her graduating class; she also studied at Tulane University School of
Law and earned an L.L.M.; and
WHEREAS, Pinkie was admitted to the bar in both Louisiana and New York, and
she was also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and the United
States Tax Court; and
WHEREAS, prior to her election into the House of Representatives, she served as
assistant district attorney in the Third Judicial District for Lincoln and Union parishes and
as an assistant attorney general for the state of Louisiana; she also practiced computer law
with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith at the World Financial Center and was a tax
attorney with the Internal Revenue Service in Los Angeles; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wilkerson was also a very accomplished academic; she served as
an assistant professor of law at Southern University School of Law, an assistant professor
of American history at both Grambling State University and the University of Maryland, a
teacher of American history and American government in the Sacramento City Unified
Page 1 of 3 HR NO. 11 ENROLLED
School District, and an adjunct professor of business law at Louisiana Tech University and
Grambling State University; and
WHEREAS, she combined her passion for law with her commitment to women's
causes by serving as the president of the Ruston-Grambling League of Women Voters and
the Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association; and
WHEREAS, Pinkie began her tenure as a state representative in 1992, and her
attentiveness to the will of her constituents merited her reelection to office two additional
times; during her service to the legislature, Representative Wilkerson seized every
opportunity to serve her district and the citizens of Louisiana in the most honorable and
effective manner; and
WHEREAS, Representative Wilkerson served as vice chair of the House Committee
on Health and Welfare and on the House Judiciary and Civil Law and Procedure committees;
she also served on the House committees on Insurance, Ways and Means, Transportation,
Highways, and Public Works, and on the Joint Legislative Capital Outlay Committee; and
WHEREAS, as a state representative, she fully embraced every opportunity to
champion the rights of the citizens of Louisiana, and her efforts on behalf of the elderly,
foster children, abused and neglected children, and victims of domestic violence
demonstrated her fervent commitment to her ideals; and
WHEREAS, Representative Wilkerson served with honor and distinction as the vice
chair of the Louisiana Legislative Women's Caucus from 1998 until 2000, and she was an
active participant in projects that addressed the issues affecting the women of Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, on August 1, 2000, Representative Wilkerson was killed in a tragic car
accident in Bossier City; in honor of her relentless commitment to her work, Pinkie's law
office in Grambling, Louisiana, was made the headquarters of the Pinkie C. Wilkerson Life
Development Center, which also houses her sorority, the Grambling Alumnae Chapter of
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, former state representative Pinkie Carolyn Wilkerson will forever
remain a respected member of the Legislature of Louisiana, and she will always be
remembered for her relentless pursuit of adequate health care and civil rights for the women
of Louisiana, for her compassion, for her generosity, and for the fierce determination with
which she fought to realize her cause for the benefit of all Louisianians.
Page 2 of 3 HR NO. 11 ENROLLED
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the Pinkie C. Wilkerson Life Development
Center and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., for remembering former state representative
Pinkie Carolyn Wilkerson on the twentieth anniversary of her tragic death; does hereby
posthumously recognize former Representative Wilkerson for her years of dedicated service
to the state legislature; does hereby recognize Representative Wilkerson's excellence in
carrying out her duties as a state representative; and does hereby remember her contributions
to the people of Louisiana and her many achievements during her time with the legislature.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Page 3 of 3