Desegregation pioneer to be honored with Waukegan street

WAUKEGAN, Ill. (AP) - A woman at the forefront of a 1960s effort to desegregate Waukegan public schools will be memorialized Saturday with an honorary street sign.

Duryl Smith tells the (Lake County) News-Sun (http://trib.in/1IrvzMc ) that he wanted to honor his grandmother after hearing the story of her pioneering efforts. Edith Smith died in September at 87.

The 35-year-old Smith's mother, Helen Smith, attended the all-black Whittier Elementary School before an Illinois Supreme Court ruling ordered Waukegan school officials to re-evaluate enrollment boundaries and integrate Glen Flora, Hyde Park, Clearview and Glenwood schools.

Edith and Marvin Smith were plaintiffs in a 1966 class-action lawsuit.

Edith Smith won a seat on the school board and served one term. But she worked as a paraprofessional and in security for the schools until 1997.

___

Information from: Lake County News-Sun, http://newssun.chicagotribune.com/