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Wilhelmina Delco

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Wilhelmina Ruth Delco
Speaker pro tempore of the Texas House of Representatives
In office
January 17, 1991 – 1993
Preceded byMichael D. McKinney
Succeeded byDonald R. "Tom" Uher
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 50th district
In office
January 11, 1983 – January 10, 1995
Preceded byRené Oliveira
Succeeded byDawnna Dukes
Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from the 37-1, 37-D district
In office
January 14, 1975 – January 11, 1983
Preceded byLarry Bales
Succeeded byIrma Lerma Rangel
(Redistricting)
Personal details
Born
Wilhelmina Ruth Fitzgerald

(1929-07-16) July 16, 1929 (age 96)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Exalton Alfonso Delco Jr.
​
​
(m. 1952)​
Children4
EducationFisk University (BA)

Wilhelmina Ruth Delco (née Fitzgerald; born July 16, 1929) is an American politician who served in the Texas House of Representatives.[1] She was inducted into the Texas Women's Hall of Fame in 1986.[2] She was the first African American official elected at-large in Travis County and the first woman to hold the second-highest position in the Texas House of Representatives.

Early life and education

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On July 16, 1929, Delco was born as Wilhelmina Ruth Fitzgerald in Chicago, Illinois. Delco's parents were Juanita Fitzgerald Watson and William P. Fitzgerald.[3] Her mother was one of the first probation officers in the United States, and her father was a court deputy and political organizer. Delco attended Wendell Phillips Academy High School, was student body president her senior year, and graduated as salutatorian.[4]

In 1950, Delco earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Career

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Delco was the head of the parent–teacher association at the school her child attended in Austin, Texas. After discovering that the school board had decided that the PTA would be charged every time they held a fundraiser, Delco decided to run for a position on the school board. In 1968, Delco was elected to the board of trustees for the Austin Independent School District two days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., becoming the first African American elected to public office in Austin.[1][4][5] In 1971, she led the effort to nominate Gus Garcia to fill a vacancy on the board.[6][7] She was the secretary of the board from 1972 to 1974. She was one of the founding board of trustees of Austin Community College and served as secretary of the board from 1973 to 1974.[8] She was also a member of the Austin League of Women Voters.[9]

Prior to 1974, Travis County elected its state representatives county wide from a multi-member district. Federal courts ordered Travis County's four state representatives to be elected from single member districts starting in 1974. Delco was elected to the Texas House of Representatives from a new northeast Travis County single member district in 1974[10] and would go on to serve ten terms in the legislature. From 1979 to 1991, she was chair of the Higher Education Committee for the House.[5][11] She became the first black legislator from Texas's 50th House of Representatives district.[3] From 1991 to 1993, she was speaker pro tempore of the House of Representatives. She retired from the legislature in 1995.[5][11]

She was chair of the board of trustees for Huston-Tillotson College and an adjunct professor at the University of Texas at Austin with the Community College Leadership Program.[5] Delco was the chair of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity of the United States Department of Education.[2] She was also involved in efforts to encourage divestiture from apartheid-era South Africa.[12] Delco was a commissioner of the Texas Ethics Commission.[13]

In 1993, she was awarded the James Bryant Conant Award by the Education Commission of the States for her contributions to American education.[14]

The Wilhelmina F. Delco Building on the campus of Prairie View A&M University is named after her.[15]

The Delco Activity Center in Austin, which opened in 2002, is named after her and her husband. It provides facilities for a variety of athletic competitions.[16]

Wilhelmina Delco Elementary School in Austin and in Pflugerville ISD is named after her.[17]

The City of Austin's Permitting and Development Center, which opened in July 2021, is located on Wilhelmina Delco Drive.[18]

Personal life

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Delco's husband is Exalton Alfonso Delco Jr., whom she met in the cafeteria while attending Fisk University.[19] Exalton Alfonso Delco Jr. became the first African American to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree in zoology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962. He had a long career as a professor at Huston–Tillotson University, Austin Community College,[20] and Texas Southern University, and educated several noteworthy students including Barbara Jordan. He worked at Huston–Tillotson University for 25 years and eventually became dean.[21] Delco and her husband are Catholic.[22] She has four children, nine grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b McCartan, Anne-Marie (2017). Unexpected Influence: Women Who Helped Shape the Early Community College Movement. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 103–107. ISBN 978-1475828665.
  2. ^ a b "Wilhelmina Ruth Delco". Texas Women's Hall of Fame. Texas Women's University.
  3. ^ a b "Delco Collection". Prairie View A&M University.
  4. ^ a b Sanders, Jennifer (March 18, 2025). "The Honorable Wilhelmina Delco continues to pave the way for Austin leaders". KXAN-TV.
  5. ^ a b c d "The Honorable Wilhelmina Delco". The History Makers: The Digital Repository for the Black Experience.
  6. ^ Slusher, Daryl (June 2, 2000). "The Life and Times of Gus Garcia". The Austin Chronicle.
  7. ^ King, Michael (January 7, 2019). ""We Were Very, Very Lucky"". The Austin Chronicle.
  8. ^ "Wilhelmina Delco, BAC Co-Chair". Austin Community College District.
  9. ^ "Wilhelmina Ruth Delco: Champion for Education". Texas Women's Foundation.
  10. ^ Dunbar, Wells (February 28, 2008). "David Van Os on Single-Member Districts". The Austin Chronicle.
  11. ^ a b "Wilhelmina Delco". Texas Legislators: Past & Present. Texas Legislative Reference Library.
  12. ^ "Delco, Wilhelmina R. Fitzgerald (b. 1929)". University of North Texas.
  13. ^ Whittaker, Richard (March 2, 2008). "Thompson Wins Ethics Assault". The Austin Chronicle.
  14. ^ "Honors & Awards". Education Week. September 29, 1993.
  15. ^ "Wilhelmina F. Delco Building". Prairie View A&M University.
  16. ^ "Delco Activity Center". Visit Austin.
  17. ^ "Wilhelmina Delco Elementary School". The Texas Tribune. 8 December 2015.
  18. ^ "Visit the PDC". City of Austin.
  19. ^ McCray, Marilyn (May 2009). "The Many Lives of Wilhelmina Delco" (PDF). Austin Woman Magazine. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  20. ^ Reddick, Richard J.; Thompson, Lisa B. (January 5, 2022). "Black Austin Matters: Wilhelmina and Exalton Delco". KUT & KUTX Studios (Podcast).
  21. ^ Elmer, Nicole (February 13, 2025). "Exalton Delco: UT's First African American Ph.D. in Zoology". University of Texas at Austin.
  22. ^ "2020 Award Honorees: The Honorable Wilhelmina & Dr. Exalton Delco". Caritas of Austin.
  23. ^ "Wilhelmina Delco". Trinity University Press.
[edit]
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 50 (Austin)
1983–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
District established
 Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 37-D (Austin)
1977–1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the Texas House of Representatives
from District 37-1 (Austin)
1975–1977 		Succeeded by
District abolished
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