Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Dwight Evans (2nd District of Pennsylvania)
‘In our nation’s 250th anniversary year, Philadelphia continues to be at the heart of Black history in the United States’
PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 26, 2026) – Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA-3) has introduced two pieces of legislation to honor African American trailblazers in Philadelphia.
“In our nation’s 250th anniversary year, Philadelphia continues to be at the heart of Black history in the United States,” Evans said. “I’m proud to honor both Dr. Constance E. Clayton, the first female and first African American superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia; and the leaders and activists who took part in the 14-year fight to desegregate Girard College, including Cecil B. Moore and Raymond Pace Alexander.”
Dr. Clayton was born in North Philadelphia in 1933 and died in 2023. She spent her life in the city, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Temple University, and her career was mostly spent as a Philadelphia educator. She began with teaching elementary school, and served other roles for the school district afterward, one including creating an African American History curriculum. She then went on to earn doctorates from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1982, she became the school district’s superintendent. Throughout her 11 years in that office, she standardized the district’s curriculum and worked to ensure the educational experience supported students. While tough, her no-nonsense approach got results, such as math and reading scores in elementary schools improving, balancing the district’s budget efficiently, and having no labor strikes.
Dr. Clayton was decorated and celebrated for her contributions as an influential educator for Philadelphia’s public schools. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; and a lover of the arts and humanities who served on the board of trustees for the Philadelphia Museum of Art. She received honorary doctorate degrees from 17 colleges and universities.
She was founder and chair of the museum’s African American Collections Committee, which worked to build the collection of African American artists, mount more exhibits of diverse work, and make certain the museum was open and accessible to all citizens of Philadelphia. She also worked to build a pipeline of African American curators at the museum by establishing the Clayton Fellowship, which provides education and training in curatorial studies.
Evans’ legislation would honor Dr. Clayton by renaming the post office at 4431 Main St. in Manayunk as the Dr. Constance “Connie” E. Clayton Post Office.
Evans has also introduced a resolution recognizing the efforts from 1954 to 1968 to desegregate Girard College in Philadelphia and the leaders involved in African American integration and civil rights expansion. Girard College was created in 1848 by Stephen Girard to admit “poor white male orphans, ages six to ten,” as cited in his will.
The struggle to desegregate the institution went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and included numerous rallies and protests, including one in 1965 where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to demonstrators. The resolution recognizes Cecil B. Moore, a Philadelphia civil rights leader who was elected president of the city’s NAACP chapter in 1962; and City Councilman Raymond Pace Alexander, who led a series of legal battles to document Girard’s admittance practices as contradicting the Brown v. Board of Education decision.
The resolution also recognizes Temple University’s digital exhibition “Civil Rights in a Northern City: Philadelphia,” which documents several milestones in the city’s civil rights front that gained national attention, including the efforts to desegregate Girard.
The legislation calls for the House of Representatives to recognize and uplift ongoing efforts that highlight African American stories and history; and to recognize the need to continue protecting diversity at colleges and universities throughout the nation, and the civil rights of students.
Evans represents the 3rd Congressional District, which includes Northwest and West Philadelphia and parts of North, South, Southwest and Center City Philadelphia. He serves on the influential House Ways and Means Committee, including its Subcommittee on Health. The committee oversees taxes, trade, Social Security and Medicare.
Evans’ website is evans.house.gov and his social media handle is @RepDwightEvans on Youtube, Bluesky, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads.
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