RESOLUTION CELEBRATING BRENETTA HOWELL BARRETT'S 90TH
BIRTHDAY
WHEREAS, Brenetta Howell Barrett, noted Chicagoan and legendary civic activist for more than seven decades, celebrated her 90th birthday on June 28, 2022 and will be honored at a "90 YEARS YOUNG" community recognition celebration on July 9, 2022 ; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of these joyous occasions by the Honorable Jason Ervin, Alderman ofthe 28th Ward; and
WHEREAS, Brenetta Howell Barrett is a dedicated woman of service, unashamedly African-American, a focused social activist with exceptional civic vision who has provided leadership to Chicago's West Side neighborhoods and residents, the City of Chicago, the State of Illinois and beyond, during several transformative periods, and who has greatly contributed to the spread of an activist model of multi-cultural integration through intensive community outreach and service; and
WHEREAS, Brenetta Howell Barrett, whose adult life's work has been primarily centered on Chicago's West and Near West Sides, was born in Chicago as the eldest of seven daughters in a close-knit family, was raised in the historic South Side Bronzeville neighborhood, where she attended Forrestville Elementary and DuSable High school; She is the divorced mother of three daughters and a son, two whom are deceased (the late Viveca Lynne Howell, a Chicago Public Schools teacher, and Kevin Lawrence Howell, a Navy veteran and licensed cosmetologist who worked in the construction field) - a grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great grandmother AND a surrogate mother-figure to numerous individuals. Surviving children include Cynthia T. Henderson, M.D., MPH and Abiiba Howell, a Houston-based filmmaker and producer; and
WHEREAS, Brenetta Howell Barrett has dedicated her life to the pursuit of racial, economic, educational and social equality, professional excellence, community activism and service - including nearly four decades' active membership at Third Uni...
Click here for full text