Motion to adopt the resolution was approved.
022-23 RESOLUTION HONORING JOANNE KAPNEK BLUETHENTHAL
WHEREAS, Joanne Kapnek Bluethenthal was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on February 28, 1928; attended the public school system; and graduated from Pennsylvania State University;
WHEREAS, Ms. Bluethenthal moved to Greensboro, North Carolina in 1950, where she began a journey of activism and community engagement including involvement in underground interracial groups, community service organizations, political campaigns, Jewish organizations and religious institutions, higher education institutions, and the arts;
WHEREAS, Ms. Bluethenthal participated in the Civil Rights Movement in Greensboro including the Woolworth’s Sit-In among various other sit-ins; she believed in the importance of public school desegregation; women’s rights to serve as principals and administrators; for school improvements as a real world training ground; she helped develop Social Services Seminars and internships for high school seniors to all work for credit volunteer services;
WHEREAS, community service has been evident by the fact that Ms. Bluethenthal has served on the Guilford County Board of Education where through the establishment of the Lay-Professional Advisory Committee on Human Relations Plan, first Chaired by Ms. Bluethenthal, that was later selected out of 366 submitted plans, by The United State Department of Health, Education, and Welfare to serve as a model to school systems across the county;
WHEREAS, she served the Greensboro Zoning and Planning Commission, the Greensboro Community Council, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, the Guilford College Board of Visitors, the Board of Trustee’s for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Board of Trustee’s for Guilford Technical Community College, the Board of Trustees for Temple Emanuel; and was the first female to serve on the Greensboro Housing Authority;
WHEREAS, additionally, she served as the President of the National Council of Jewish Women in Greensboro, as well as the Chair of the Sixty-Plus Club (the city’s first organization for older citizens), served on the Greensboro Jewish Federation, and the Greensboro Nursing Council; the Eastern Music Festival; served as an Officer or Board Member of the Friends Home Advisory Committee, the Family Services / Travelers Aid; the United Day Care services, the United Community Services, and the United Way;
WHEREAS, Ms. Bluethenthal’s dedication and service brought several recognitions and honors such as the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce's Nathaniel Greene Award for Special Achievement in Leadership, the National Council of Jewish Women's Hannah G. Solomon Award for outstanding work on behalf of children, The Alexis de Tocqueville Award for Volunteerism, The Ben Cone Sr. Award from the Jewish Federation, The Quota Club's 1974 Woman of the Year, and the Brotherhood Citation from the National Conference of Christians and Jews; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GREENSBORO:
1. That the City Council wishes to express its deep gratitude and appreciation to Joanne Kapnek Bluethenthal for her many years of dedicated public service and outstanding contributions to the community.
2. That a copy of this resolution shall be delivered to the family of Joanne Kapnek Bluethenthal as a symbol of the gratitude of the residents of the City of Greensboro for her contributions both locally and nationally.
(Signed) Nancy Hoffmann