WHEREAS, Sheila Hawkins was born and raised in Philadelphia, the oldest of four kids. She went to public schools including Meade and Barrett schools, and Baptist church at Greater Zion. She got good grades and volunteered as a nurse’s aide. She comes from a loving, caring, strong family that would take anyone in, clothe them, and keep them on their feet, and she is the same way. She is a member of Eastern Star, a Treasurer of the Home and School Association at the Steel School, and the Founder of the Nicetown Breath Takers Drill Team; and
WHEREAS, A lady on her block named Mama Smith used to take her and her friends on free trips with lunch and snacks. She helped children go on trips their parents couldn’t afford to support. None of them were her children, but in her eyes they were. That inspired Sheila, who fell in love with caring for children before she even had her own. She grew a passion for refusing to leave any child behind that she carries forward to today, including by walking children to school in the morning; and
WHEREAS, Mama Smith inspired Sheila to be a block captain, as well. She has been a block captain since 1975, since a few years after she moved to Nicetown, and when she moved down the block she became a block captain there too. She takes great pride in making her space beautiful, including working to add murals to the area; and
WHEREAS, The area has changed tremendously over the years, for bad, good and neutral. She has strived to make it better and has witnessed crime decline and opportunities improve. She is convinced that if every neighbor gets out of their house, and comes to participate in a regular cleaning, it will provide immeasurable beauty and improvement to the space, to come out in unity with a shared core purpose; and
WHEREAS, She is committed to a safe and secure space for seniors and children. She wants to be close with everyone around her, and to include every person in their neighborhood, unity is the heart of her activism. She looks forward to a Nicetown that receives the resources it deserves; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Hereby celebrates and recognizes Sheila Hawkins for her insistence on the importance of community, her tireless efforts to make the spaces around her more beautiful, and her understanding that that unity is at the heart of activism, on the occasion of Black History Month.
FURTHER RESOLVED,
That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to
Sheila Hawkins
, as an expression of the gratitude and admiration of the Council of the City of Philadelphia.
End