Kathlyn Joy Gilliam

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 The late Kathlyn Joy Gilliam was a wife and mother of three. She found her calling as a community and education activist in her pursuit to better educate her children.  She is most notably remembered for her 23 years as a trustee of the Dallas Independent School District (DISD).  Upon her election in 1974, she became the first African-American female trustee and was the first African-American to lead as Board President during the 1980-1982 term.  Mrs. Gilliam was known in the community as a champion for public school education, especially aiming to eliminate educational disparities for youth located in heavily populated minority neighborhoods.  

Even before her tenure as a DISD trustee, she was a political activist, serving as the president of the then segregated Dallas City Council PTA school board in the 1960s and as the secretary of the Texas Congress of Colored PTAs in the 1970s.  She also was one of the many plaintiffs in a leading federal case to desegregate Dallas public schools and a founding member of the Political Congress of African-American Women. 

Mrs. Gilliam’s advocacy in the Dallas educational movement was honored when the school board voted in October 2011 to name a school after her- the Kathlyn Joy Gilliam Collegiate Academy.  Mrs. Gilliam’s passions also included her love of her beloved community- South Dallas, where she resided for nearly most of her 81 years.  She was a founder of the Clean South Dallas/Fair Park, Inc.- a litter abatement and beautification project, and other countless movements in the South Dallas area.  Mrs. Gilliam championed the citizens of South Dallas and believed in the majesty and restoration of the community.​