TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE LEGACY OF JAMES KNOX BRABOY IN HIS DEDICATION AND TENACITY AS AN AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATOR AT LELAND GROVE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN DILLON COUNTY FROM 1934 TO 1970.

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives appreciate the significant contributions of James Knox "K" Braboy during his forty-six-year crusade to educate young Native Americans in the Carolina community; and

Whereas, an American Indian educator and native of North Carolina, K Braboy was born in 1906 and did not earn a bachelor's degree until the age of fifty-one, but he served Leland Grove Elementary School in Dillon County from 1934 to 1970 as principal, custodian, bus driver, and adult educator for forty-six years; and

Whereas, built in 1934 as a one-room schoolhouse, Leland Grove Elementary School was one of the few American Indian schools in South Carolina, averaging about 50 American Indian students each year from the Carolina community and other areas of Dillon and Marlboro counties; and

Whereas, the school serves grades one through seven; and

Whereas, Mr. Braboy would walk his students across the McInnis Bridge over the Little Pee Dee River before the county purchased a bus for the students, and then he drove the bus for many years; and

Whereas, in 1970, Mr. Braboy was named South Carolina Teacher of the Year and was honored on the U.S. Teacher of the Year Finalist Honor Roll of Look magazine. He died in 1976; and

Whereas, on June 21, 2014, the legacy of Mr. Braboy as an American Indian educator will be honored at the dedication of an historical marker at the site of the historic Leland Grove Elementary School in Little Rock, and a reception will follow at Fairview United Methodist Church to celebrate his heritage. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor the legacy of James Knox Braboy in his dedication and tenacity as an American Indian educator at Leland Grove Elementary School in Dillon County from 1934 to 1970.