Bill Text: MS SC509 | 2013 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Mourn the loss and commend the life of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community Leader Lucimarian T. Roberts.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2013-01-17 - Enrolled Bill Signed [SC509 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2013-SC509-Enrolled.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2013 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Dawkins, Tindell, Butler (38th), Frazier, Jackson (11th)
Senate Concurrent Resolution 509
(As Adopted by Senate and House)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE LOSS AND COMMENDING THE DEDICATED PUBLIC SERVICE OF MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY LEADER LUCIMARIAN T. ROBERTS OF PASS CHRISTIAN, THE FIRST BLACK TO SERVE AS CHAIRMAN OF THE MISSISSIPPI STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION.
WHEREAS, Mississippians from across the state paid their respects to the late Lucimarian T. Roberts of Pass Christian, who passed away on August 30, 2012. She was the first Black to serve as Chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Education, a community leader on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the mother of "Good Morning America" Co-Host Robin Roberts. Lucimarian was laid to rest at the Biloxi National Cemetery next to her husband, United States Air Force Colonel Lawrence Roberts of the Tuskegee Airmen who passed away in 2004; and
WHEREAS, Lucimarian Tolliver Roberts was born February 5, 1924, in Akron, Ohio to the union of William and Sally Suddeth Tolliver. She was educated in Washington, D.C. at Howard University, first moved to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1969, approximately four weeks prior to Hurricane Camille's landfall. Mrs. Roberts graduated from Howard University in Washington, D.C. where she earned a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. She was a former social worker, college counselor and educator; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Roberts devoted much of her adult life to community service through her work with the Sun Herald's-Knight Foundation Advisory Board; Chairman of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum Commission; Mississippi Power Company Board; Chairman of the State Board of Education; consultant to Presbyterian Church USA; Committee for Self-Development of People; founding Director, Leadership Gulf Coast; former Secretary, Kids Voting USA Board; Boys and Girls Club; Gulf Coast Advisory Board; Salvation Army Advisory Board; Mississippi Children's Rehab Center and Mission Initiative of Presbyterian Church USA; Presbyterian Church USA Investment and Loan Program Board; and Genesis Foundation of Mississippi Board. Lucimarian Roberts was a life member of the NAACP, National Council of Negro Women and Harrison County Federation of Democratic Women; Citizens Advisory Committee of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and was Director of the New Orleans branch of the Federal Reserve Bank from November 1991 through December 1998. She was a member and Elder at Old Town Presbyterian Church in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Roberts' numerous honors, awards and recognitions include: 2011 NAACP Medgar Evers Lifetime Achievement Award; 2011 Mississippi Medal of Service, presented by Honorable Governor Haley Barbour; 2010 Tocqueville Award Recipient, United Way of South Mississippi; 2009 House Concurrent Resolution No. 97, Mississippi Legislature; 2008 American Association of University Women Honoree; 2005 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community Junior College Community College 3E Award; 2001 Bess E. Norman Community Service Award; 2001 Woman of Distinction Award; Service of Youth Award from the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast; Girl Scouts, Pine Burr Council; 1997 Pat Santucci Spirit of the Coast Award; 1995 Phil Hardin Foundation for Outstanding Leadership, Service and Education; 1993 Martin Luther King Dream Award; named Sun Herald Business Journal Outstanding Community Leader and South Mississippi Top Community Leader by the Sun Herald; 1991 Laurel Wreath Award; and 1942 John S. Knight Scholarship Award, Akron Beacon Journal; and
WHEREAS, she is the author of My Story, My Song: Mother-Daughter Reflections on Life and Faith which is an inspirational memoir of Mrs. Roberts, detailing pivotal moments in her life and revealing how faith in God provided her with strength and hope to face the challenges of life. Reflections from her daughter, Robin, on her mother's life and faith cap off each chapter; and
WHEREAS, she was proud of her family. Her late husband was a retired United States Air Force Colonel Lawrence E. Roberts who was a Tuskegee Airman and is survived by her son, Lawrence E. Roberts II (Cynthia) of Houston, Texas; her daughter's Sally-Ann Roberts Nabonne (Ron) of New Orleans, Louisiana, Dorothy Roberts McEwen, of Long Beach, Mississippi, and Robin R. Roberts, of New York, New York; and her sister, Depholia Sims Butler of Akron, Ohio. She is also survived by eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. She leaves behind a host of nieces, nephews, cousins; and dear friends who she met throughout her life as a military wife and a community leader on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and it is with sadness that we remember the life and service of this leading citizen who touched the lives of many Mississippians and leaves a legacy of leadership and dedication to all in our state:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the loss and commend the dedicated public service of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community leader Lucimarian T. Roberts of Pass Christian, Mississippi, the first Black to serve as Chairman of the Mississippi State Board of Education, and extend to her surviving family our sympathy on her passing and the thanks of a grateful state.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Mrs. Roberts, forwarded to the State Board of Education, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.
