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2023 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 466
Commending Howard E. Robinson, Sr.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 16, 2023
Agreed to by the Senate, January 19, 2023

 

WHEREAS, Howard E. Robinson, Sr., a distinguished former educator in Mecklenburg County and member of the Greatest Generation who served the nation during World War II, celebrated his 100th birthday in 2022; and

WHEREAS, born on February 1, 1922, Howard Robinson was the youngest of 10 children and grew up in the segregation era, when a free public education was not guaranteed for Black Americans; and

WHEREAS, Howard Robinson worked at and attended the Thyne Institute, one of the only schools in the area open to Black students, and ultimately graduated as valedictorian of his class; he went on to attend Virginia State College, where he earned a full four-year scholarship and met his wife Anna Smith; and

WHEREAS, upon graduation with a degree in biology, Howard Robinson returned to the Thyne Institute as a teacher, before being drafted into the United States Army in 1942; and

WHEREAS, after his honorable military service during World War II, Howard Robinson resumed his position at Thyne Institute and taught biology, chemistry, and general science until September 1953, when he transferred to East End High School, the first free public secondary school for Black students in Mecklenburg County; and

WHEREAS, Howard Robinson continued his education with graduate-level coursework at The George Washington University and Virginia State College and earned a master’s degree in guidance from the Hampton Institute in 1962; and

WHEREAS, Howard Robinson inspired young people at East End High School as a teacher and guidance counselor for 35 years until his retirement in 1987; over the course of his exceptional career, he touched the lives of more than 10,000 students, giving them the tools and support they needed to achieve success in higher education and careers and become good citizens of the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That Howard E. Robinson, Sr., hereby be commended on the occasion of his 100th birthday; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Howard E. Robinson, Sr., as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his personal and professional achievements.