On Monday, April 18, the Garland Branch of the NAACP held a virtual meeting to celebrate the Garland ISD elementary school students who received this year’s Goldie Locke Excel Awards. Additionally, on Tuesday, April 19, the organization recognized the middle school recipients of the awards.
The theme of the presentations was Stepping Stones to Success: Reaching, Achieving, Excelling. The award ceremonies were sponsored by Herb Buford, co-owner of Infinity-AP . Additional sponsors were Garland ISD and Garland ISD Student Services.
Dr. Joyce Miller, who serves as the education chair of the Garland Branch of the NAACP, was mistress of ceremonies.
About Goldie Locke
Receiving an award named for Goldie Locke is indeed a high honor. Ms. Locke was an influential and well-respected community leader. She worked countless hours in the community for a variety of causes.
She was a charter member and founding president of the Garland Branch of the NAACP. It was during her presidency that the organization filed to intervene in the desegregation of Garland ISD schools. The district continues to be governed by the desegregation plans of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 1970 Civil Court Order and the 1987 Civil Court Action. Kimberlin Academy is one example of education improvements that were made through the tireless efforts of Ms. Locke and other Garland leaders.
In addition, she founded the Garland ISD NAACP Excel awards to ensure that middle school students would be recognized for their efforts. After her death, the awards were renamed in her honor.
In addition, a city of Garland meeting room in the downtown area has been named in honor of Ms. Locke. The Honorable Annie Dickson, Dale Long and Dorothy Brooks lead the effort to have the meeting room named for Ms. Locke.
Her legacy lives on through the many accomplishments and the countless positive changes she made through her service in the community.
