Florida Senate - 2009 (NP) SR 2812
By Senator Joyner
18-05239-09 20092812__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution remembering Sam Horton as a champion of
3 equal opportunity for all in the Hillsborough County
4 public school district and for his dedication as a
5 teacher, administrator, and education reformer.
6
7 WHEREAS, Sam Horton was born in historic Bealsville, an
8 East Hillsborough County community settled by a dozen former
9 slaves, and
10 WHEREAS, Sam Horton attended Hillsborough County public
11 schools, graduating from Marshall High School in 1945, and
12 WHEREAS, Sam Horton earned a bachelor’s degree in education
13 at age 19 from Florida A & M College, and went on to earn his
14 master’s degree from Florida State University, and his Ph.D.
15 from Nova University, and
16 WHEREAS, Sam Horton worked in the Hillsborough County
17 School District for more than 42 years, first as an English
18 teacher and later as a coach and principal, and
19 WHEREAS, in 1978, Sam Horton became Hillsborough County’s
20 first black general director for secondary education, and
21 WHEREAS, Sam Horton consistently demonstrated his
22 commitment to improving the quality of life and education for
23 all students in the Hillsborough County public school district,
24 and
25 WHEREAS, in an effort to bring more African-American
26 educators to Hillsborough County, Sam Horton established a local
27 chapter of the National Alliance of Black School Educators, and
28 WHEREAS, Sam Horton served in the leadership of the NAACP
29 and remained committed in his opposition to practices and
30 policies that might have resulted in more segregated schools,
31 NOW, THEREFORE,
32
33 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
34
35 That Sam Horton be remembered as a champion of equal
36 opportunity for all in the Hillsborough County public school
37 district and for his dedication as a teacher, administrator, and
38 education reformer.