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A Resolution honoring the life of Dr. Tommie Morton-Young.
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WHEREAS, Dr. Tommie Morton-Young was a native of Nashville, Tennessee and went on to become a pioneer in higher education in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Moton-Young earned a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Tennessee State University and was the first African American to graduate from Peabody College, now Vanderbilt University; and
WHEREAS, she went on to earn her Ph.D. from Duke University and was named a Distinguished Peabody/Vanderbilt Alumna; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Morton-Young was an activist, author, scholar, and trailblazer. She was well-published as an author and held academic positions as a professor and senior administrator at several colleges and universities. She retired from the University of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Morton-Young wrote ten books and her writings include early and standard works in African American genealogy and local history, at-risk youth, and women's issues. She founded the African American Genealogical Society and Historical Society of Tennessee and North Carolina. Her publications and methods in genealogy research are used throughout the United States and by genealogists across the world; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Tommie Morton-Young was also the founder of the first Black Heritage Tour in Nashville as well as the founder of the Juneteenth celebrations at Fort Negley; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Morton-Young received numerous awards and recognitions from governmental and educational organizations, social and political agencies, and civil rights organizations, including the Distinguished Service Award from the U. S. Commission on Civil Rights, service awards from the NAACP, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the National Institutes of Health; and
WHEREAS, she was the 2006 recipient of the Athena Award, the Governor's Tennessee Excellence Award, and the E-Excellence Award from the Tennessee Economic Council on Women; her civil rights papers are h...
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