Newport News, Virginia

— Educator, Politician and Civil Rights Pioneer —

Jessie Menifield Rattley (1929-2001) was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She moved to the Virginia Peninsula to attend Hampton Institute. After graduating with honors in 1951, Mrs. Rattley established the first business department at Huntington High School. In 1952, she founded the Peninsula Business College to provide training opportunities for the Peninsula's African-American community.

In 1970, she became the first woman elected to Newport News City Council and was re-elected in 1974, 1978, 1982 and 1986. Mrs. Rottley became vice mayor in 1976 and in 1986 she became the first Black and first woman to serve as mayor of the City of Newport News. She was the first Black president of the Virginia Municipal League (1978), and the first Black woman to serve as president of the National League of Cities (1980). Mrs. Rattley also served as trustee on the Executive Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to the Intergovernmental Advisory Council of the US. Department of Education. Mrs. Rattley was a senior lecturer at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a professor at Hampton University. She chaired the Virginia Committee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, and served on a number of commissions, delegations and task forces.

Despite her many honors, her mission to improve the community never faltered. Her love of Newport News and compassion for its citizens made her a champion for all. She believed that "to solve problems you must have real personal contact with people."

Mrs. Rattley was known for her actions from the streets of Newport News to the hallways of the state capitol and to the East Room of the White House. In recognition of her dedicated service to the City and its citizens, the Jessie Menifield Rattley Municipal Center, which contains City Hall and the surrounding buildings and grounds, was named in her honor on July 13, 2004.

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Show me all markers in:  Newport News, VA  |  23607  |  Virginia  |  United States of America

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