A house RESOLUTION

 

TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON THE PASSING OF Dr. James Lewis Solomon Jr. AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS LARGE AND LOVING FAMILY AND HIS MANY FRIENDS.

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives was saddened to learn of the death of James Lewis Solomon Jr. at the age of ninety-four on November 29, 2024, after a long battle with cancer; and

 

Whereas, born in McDonough, Georgia, on August 24, 1930, he was the son of Reverend James L. Solomon Sr. and Tessie Wyatt Solomon. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta when he was just sixteen years old and studied at Morris Brown College in Atlanta until he was drafted into the military during the Korean War.  He served six years in the United States Air Force and later earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Morris College in Sumter and a master's degree in mathematics from Atlanta University; and

 

Whereas, when James Solomon applied for admission to the University of South Carolina, he was already a family man and a professor of mathematics at Morris College soon to become that institution's vice president of institutional planning and research. On September 11, 1963, he was one of the first Black students to attend the university since Reconstruction, along with Robert G. Anderson and Henri Monteith Treadwell; and

 

Whereas, he had participated in the early stages of the Atlanta Movement, but he felt he needed to do more, so while studying to become the first Black graduate student at the University of South Carolina, he remained a member of the Morris College faculty, rising as both an educator and administrator; and

 

Whereas, Dr. Solomon developed and directed a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded program for elementary school teachers and served as division director at the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education and as commissioner of the South Carolina Department of Social Services; and

 

Whereas, he was elected to school boards both in Sumter School District 17, where he served as the first African American elected to public office in Sumter County since Reconstruction, and in Richland School District One, where he was the first African American to serve as chairman. He also served on the Richland County Council; and

 

Whereas, an active member of Saint John Baptist Church and devoted to his community, Dr. Solomon served on the Columbia Urban League, Brothers and Sisters, Palmetto Development Group, South Carolina Commission on the Future, and on boards of United Way of the Midlands, and the American Public Welfare Association. His contributions were recognized with an honorary doctorate from Morris College and a Doctor of Laws from Columbia College. He was twice awarded the state's highest civilian honor, the Order of the Palmetto, by both Governors Richard Riley and Carroll Campbell; and

 

Whereas, he married his beloved wife, Helen Marion Kennedy, in 1954, a union that lasted for seventy years.  Together they reared a large and loving family; and

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is grateful for the life and legacy of James Solomon and for the example of excellence and service he set for all who knew him. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, express their profound sorrow upon the passing of Dr. James Lewis Solomon Jr. and extend their deepest sympathy to his family and his many friends.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. James Lewis Solomon Jr.

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