Live Radio
Home » Montgomery County, MD News » 1st African American woman…

1st African American woman elected to Montgomery Co. education board dies

Abigail Constantino | aconstantino@wtop.com

May 19, 2020, 1:00 AM

odessa shannon
Trailblazing Montgomery County, Maryland, leader, activist and public servant Odessa Shannon dies at 91. (Screenshot courtesy Montgomery County Council via YouTube)

Trailblazing Montgomery County, Maryland, leader, activist and public servant Odessa Shannon died Sunday. She was 91 years old.

Shannon was the first African American woman elected to the Montgomery County Board of Education. In that position, she fought to ensure African American children and families received the resources they needed to close the achievement gap and “gave them a fair shot to reach their full potential,” a Montgomery County news release said.

Shannon was also the executive director of the county’s Human Rights Commission. She was also the special assistant to former County Executive Charles W. Gilchrist.

She served as a program director at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a director of the National Political Congress of Black Women and as a member of the National Association of Human Rights Workers.

In addition, she served on many community boards, including the NAACP, the Commission on Aging and the Montgomery Housing Partnership.

She received numerous awards and recognition for her work and involvement in human rights, education, community leadership and the advancement of women and African Americans.

“Odessa believed in the promise of Montgomery County and spent her life pushing us to live up to that promise. She was a friend who inspired me, and so many others, through her passion to make this County a better place to live,” County Executive Marc Elrich said in a statement.

Watch a video tribute from the Montgomery County Council on the life of Shannon below.

Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.

aconstantino@wtop.com

Related News

Recommended

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Jaylon Ferguson died at age 26, his agent confirmed Wednesday, June 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Gail Burton, File)
AP Photo/Gail Burton, File
In this photo provided by The Washington Post, Fred Hiatt, Washington Post staff and Editorial page editor, in Washington, Oct. 2, 2019. Hiatt, a foreign correspondent who rose in 2000 to become The Washington Post’s editorial page editor, died Monday at a hospital in New York City. He was 66. (Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via AP, File)
Bill O’Leary/The Washington Post via AP, File
raskin
Thomas Raskin, Sarah Bloom Raskin and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) listen as a group of Maryland residents, calling themselves the ‘Pandemic Comforters,’ sing to them in the front yard of their home on May 4, 2020 in Takoma Park, Maryland. The singers wanted to use the nice weather to show gratitude to Rep. Raskin for his work in Congress and offer their prayers during the coronavirus pandemic. Last week, Rep. Raskin was appointed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to the newly created House Select Committee On Coronavirus. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Retiring US Senator Paul Sarbanes in 2006
Former U.S Sen. Paul Sarbanes died Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020 at age 87. Seen here, he attends the victory rally of U.S. Representative and Maryland Democratic Senate candidate Ben Cardin on Nov. 7, 2006 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)
Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Shirley Butler
Shirley Brown Butler, whose family invited generations of families to “pick your own” at Butler’s Orchard, in Germantown, Maryland, died at age 91. She died Sept. 10, 2020. (Courtesy Butler family)
Courtesy Butler family
Esther McCready, the first Black woman to be admitted to the University of Maryland School of Nursing, died Sept. 2. She was 89. (Courtesy State of Maryland Website historical archive)
Courtesy State of Maryland Website historical archive
Former Georgetown Hoyas head coach John Thompson Jr.
Legendary Georgetown Hoyas head coach John Thompson Jr. died at age 78. Here the former coach is seen looking on before a college basketball game between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Butler Bulldogs at the Capital One Arena on Feb. 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images
D.C. nightlife legend Joe Englert, whose bars and restaurants dotted the H Street NE corridor and beyond, died Aug. 20, 2020. He was 59. Englert was instrumental in revitalizing H Street Northeast as a night-life destination with popular places, such as The Argonaut, The Palace of Wonder, Rock & Roll Hotel, The Red and the Black, The Pug and H Street Country Club, among others. Before H Street, Englert founded several restaurants and bars across D.C. The Big Hunt, DC9, Andalusian Dog, Carmela Kitty’s, Nero’s, Pennsylvania Avenue Pourhouse, State of the Union, Trusty’s, The Rock and Lucky Bar. . (Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Photo by Deb Lindsey For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Irene Pollin, co-owner of the Caps and Wizards with her late husband, Abe Pollin, died July 28. She was 96. (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Falls Church Council member Dan Sze
Falls Church Council member Dan Sze died in July after a battle with esophageal cancer. Sze had been elected three times to the council, first from 2006 to 2010, then from 2014 to 2017 and again in 2018.  (Courtesy Falls Church government)
Courtesy Falls Church government
Billy Ray White
Billy Ray White, one of the owners of Captain White’s Seafood, died in a truck crash on Tuesday, July 14, two days before his 65th birthday. (Courtesy Captain White’s Seafood)
Courtesy Captain White’s Seafood
odessa shannon

Trailblazing Montgomery County, Maryland, leader, activist and public servant Odessa Shannon dies at 91. (Screenshot courtesy Montgomery County Council via YouTube)

Screenshot courtesy Montgomery County Council via YouTube
tommy curtis wayne's luv
Tommy Curtis, whose aplomb as a promoter of The Yacht Club of Bethesda turned nightly capacity crowds of over-35 singles packed in a dreary Holiday Inn into what he dubbed “The Love Boat,” has died. He was 75. Tommy Curtis’s club, Wayne’s Luv, which opened in 1972, was one of the first area clubs catering to singles. (Courtesy Dave Nuttycombe)
Courtesy Dave Nuttycombe
Arlington County, Virginia, board member Erik Gutshall died on April 16 at the age of 49. He announced his resignation on April 6, saying he had been undergoing treatment for brain cancer, according to The Associated Press. (Courtesy Arlington County)
Courtesy Arlington County
mike buchanan
Veteran D.C.-area reporter Mike Buchanan has died at 78. FILE – WUSA TV reporter Mike Buchanan shares a bath with live ducks at the Peabody Hotel, Washington, USA, February 24, 1988. The ducks are a tradition at the Peabody Hotel, swimming in the marble lobby fountain, walking on red carpets and sleeping in penthouse quarters at night. (AP Photo/Bob Daughtery)
AP Photo/Bob Daughtery
FILE – In this Feb. 26, 2017, file photo, Katherine Johnson, the inspiration for the film, “Hidden Figures,” poses in the press room at the Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Johnson, a mathematician on early space missions who was portrayed in film “Hidden Figures,” about pioneering black female aerospace workers, died Monday, Feb. 24, 2020.
(1/16)
raskin
Retiring US Senator Paul Sarbanes in 2006
Shirley Butler
Former Georgetown Hoyas head coach John Thompson Jr.
Falls Church Council member Dan Sze
Billy Ray White
odessa shannon
tommy curtis wayne's luv
mike buchanan
Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up