81R32439 JNC-D
By: McClendon H.R. No. 2390
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Henrietta Eugene Roberts Stevenson of San Antonio is
being honored as a Diamond Member by the Alpha Tau Omega Chapter of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., on June 13, 2009; and
WHEREAS, A native of the Alamo City, Mrs. Stevenson was born
on July 24, 1915, the granddaughter of former slaves; her father
grew up on a plantation in Mississippi, and her mother, the former
Ira Aldridge Kirkpatrick, was the granddaughter of runaway slave
Madison Kirkpatrick; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Stevenson graduated from Douglas Senior High
School and received a $25 scholarship to Fisk University, and she
completed her freshman year at St. Philip's College in San Antonio;
she went on to earn her bachelor's and master's degrees from the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where she was initiated into
the Beta Eta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and served as its
president; and
WHEREAS, Following completion of her education, Mrs.
Stevenson accepted a position at Samuel Huston College in Austin
and became a charter member of the Beta Psi Omega Chapter of Alpha
Kappa Alpha; she went on to teach Spanish at St. Philip's College,
support the war effort as a clerk for the War Department Office of
Dependency Benefits, and become the first African American educator
in the Morristown, New Jersey, public school system; and
WHEREAS, She continued her affiliation with Alpha Kappa
Alpha, serving as president of the Beta Alpha Omega Chapter in
Newark, New Jersey from 1960 to 1962, and in 1971, she returned to
San Antonio and transferred to the Alpha Tau Omega Chapter; she
taught at Laura Steele Elementary before retiring in 1982; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Stevenson has also made generous contributions
to her community; an active member of the NAACP since 1952, she was
co-chair of the 1983 Freedom Fund Dinner and the Branch Voting
Rights Roundtable and a founding member of the Carver Community
Cultural Center Volunteers; she earned the 2008 Service Award from
Carver Volunteers, the 2007 African American Reflections Sojourner
Truth Advocacy Award, and the 1993 Top Ladies of Distinction
Volunteer Service Award for her selfless efforts; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Stevenson was also honored with a Service Award
from Huston-Tillotson College, a St. Philip's College Presidential
Award for Service on the Centennial Celebration Committee, and a
Curry Award from the United Negro College Fund; in addition, she is
a conservator of the Schomburg Society for the Preservation of
Black Culture, a 2002 Inductee into the San Antonio Women's Hall of
Fame, and a recipient of a Headliner Award in the category of
education from the Association for Women in Communications; and
WHEREAS, Henrietta Stevenson has inspired countless people
with her unwavering commitment to serving others, and she is indeed
deserving of special recognition; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Henrietta Eugene Roberts Stevenson
on being recognized as a Diamond Member by the Alpha Tau Omega
Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and extend to her sincere best
wishes for the future; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mrs. Stevenson as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.