LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring Dr. Olivia J. Hooker upon the occasion
of her selection as a New York State Woman of Distinction in conjunction
with March as Women's History Month and marking March 24, 2010 as
"Olivia J. Hooker" Day in New York State

WHEREAS, Women's History Month, celebrated each year in March, is a time
to reflect upon and pay tribute to the women of our State and Nation for
their contributions to their communities and their professions; and
WHEREAS. It is the sense of this Legislative Body that women of every
economic, ethnic and religious background have made significant contrib-
utions to their community and to the State of New York, and it is appro-
priate to recognize them and to publicly acknowledge their endeavors
which have enhanced the basic humanity among us all; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor Dr.
Olivia J. Hooker upon the occasion of her selection as a Woman of
Distinction by the New York State Senate; and
WHEREAS, Olivia J. Hooker was born in Muskogee, Oklahoma in 1915, and
then moved with her family to Tulsa, Oklahoma a few years later, where
her father was a successful businessman who operated a clothing store
and her mother was a former teacher in the Greenwood District, which has
been referred to as "the prairie's own small turn-of-the-century
Harlem"; and
WHEREAS, Only six years old when her community in Tulsa was destroyed
on May 31, 1921, in the worst race riot in the history of the United
States, the Tulsa riot resulted in the deaths of more than three hundred
people - some buried in mass graves, and the burning of more than one
thousand black homes and businesses; Dr. Olivia J. Hooker vividly remem-
bers being awakened by the thudding sounds of machine gun ammunition
raining down on her family's home; and
WHEREAS, After the Hooker family salvaged what they could, they relo-
cated to Topeka, Kansas because, as Dr. Olivia J. Hooker recounts, they
had blown up the schools, and her parents couldn't stand the idea of
having five children and no schools; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, who currently resides in Greenburgh,
New York, has vivid memories of that week in 1921, when the death toll
surpassed the totals of the Watts riot, the Detroit riot, the Washington
riot and the Los Angeles riot combined, and she is still recalling that
horrific experience, educating our communities and serving as a role
model of the highest caliber who has lived her life according to the
values of her parents who believed in trying to make things better and
not to be motivated by revenge, an example she has upheld in her nine-
ty-five years; and
WHEREAS, In 1997, along with other survivors, Dr. Olivia J. Hooker
helped found the Tulsa Race Riot Commission, which drafted recommenda-
tions for restitution, took their case to the Oklahoma State Legislature
and to Capitol Hill where she and others testified before the United
States Congress and initiated a federal lawsuit which was argued by
Harvard law professor and civil rights lawyer Charles J. Ogletree, which
became the subject of a recent documentary, Before They Die; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Olivia J. Hooker earned her Bachelor's Degree from Ohio
State University and taught third grade for seven years before enlisting
in the United States Coast Guard during World War II, becoming the first
African-American woman to serve in active duty in the Coast Guard, where
she earned the rank of Yeoman, Second Class; and
WHEREAS, She went on to earn a Masters Degree in Psychological
Services from Teachers College at Columbia University and a Doctoral

Degree from the University of Rochester, where she was one of two black
female students, and then over the following twenty-two years, Dr.
Olivia J. Hooker served as Director of Psychology and Association
Administrator at the Kennedy Child Study Center in New York, while
teaching at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Fordham Univer-
sity, and then served at the Fred S. Keller School for Behavior Analy-
sis, evaluating candidates for special schooling and supervising
psychology interns; and
WHEREAS, An outstanding educator who retired for a second time in
2002, widely respected in her field, Dr. Olivia J. Hooker has delivered
papers on child assessment at conferences in Rome, Bologna, Egypt, and
in many other cities throughout the United States; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Olivia J. Hooker is a living part of our history, an
example for all of us, who believes that there is power within each and
every one of us, and who has earned the respect and admiration of her
family, friends and colleagues for all of her work, and who deserves
special recognition and commendation as a veteran, for her many contrib-
utions to our State and Nation in defense of our freedom; and
WHEREAS, New York State is home to countless women, strong and color-
ful threads vital to the fabric of our rich heritage, who have, and will
continue to contribute to the advancement of every member of our socie-
ty; and
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body that when women of
such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our attention, they
are to be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of this great
Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor Dr. Olivia J. Hooker upon the occasion of her selection as a New
York State Woman of Distinction in conjunction with March as Women's
History Month; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Dr. Olivia J. Hooker, Greenburgh, New York.