The Garland Unit of the NAACP recently announced and recognized the recipients of the Goldie Locke Excel Awards for both elementary and middle school. The virtual ceremonies were held April 19 and April 20. Lists of recipients are below.
The theme of the awards ceremonies was “Stepping Stones to Success: VIRTUAL Reaching, Achieving, Excelling.”
Goldie Locke was charter member and founding president of the Garland Branch NAACP. During her presidency, the branch filed to Intervene in the Desegregation of Garland ISD Schools with Attorney Edward Cloutman. Garland Independent School District is still governed by the desegregation plans of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 1970 Civil Court Order and the 1987 Civil Court Action.
As a result of the court orders, the academies of Garland ISD (Hillside, Kimberlin and others) were established. Although all schools were affected, Kimberlin Academy is an excellent example of education improvements that occurred because of the effort of Locke and other Garland pioneers and leaders.
“Goldie birthed the Garland Independent School District’s NAACP EXCEL awards. Her idea was to reach out to the middle school youth who were not being recognized for their efforts in striving to do their best. A formal recognition program was instituted as a result of this idea.”
Until her death, Locke served as a member of the Multi-Ethnic Committee initiated by the desegregation court order. To support the need for the EXCEL Awards Program, she viewed data that proved that the dropout rate for African American students was higher in middle schools than for other students. After her death, the Garland NAACP renamed this program the “Goldie Locke EXCEL Awards.”
Because of the efforts of Annie Dickson, Dale Long and Dorothy Brooks, there is now a community meeting room named in the honor of Locke in a downtown Garland municipal building. This room is opened to the citizens of Garland, a city Locke loved and served.
During the 1970’s she led the fight to change Garland’s City Council from an at-large to a single-member district city. This made it possible for all citizens to have equal representation.
Garland will forever remember Locke. Her life and legacy live on in the lives of the children and youth that are recognized through the Goldie Locke Excel Award.
Information provided by Garland Unit of the NAACP.