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2026 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 32
BY REPRESENTATIVE WALTERS
A RESOLUTION
To commend Shirley Wills, the first African American woman elected to the Caddo Parish
Police Jury, for her exemplary leadership and service to Caddo Parish.
WHEREAS, it is most fitting to recognize Shirley Wills for her status as the first
African American woman to be elected to serve on the Caddo Parish Police Jury and to
commend her dedicated service to Caddo Parish; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills was sworn in as the first African American elected to serve
on the Caddo Parish Police Jury on October 4, 1978; she represented the communities of
Stoner Hill, Anderson Island, and portions of Allendale and Highland; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills served from 1978 to 1984, and during her tenure, she witness
an era of extraordinary economic growth and infrastructure development in northwest
Louisiana; as a police juror, she successfully pushed for improvements in street maintenance,
solutions to critical drainage issues, and increased availability of affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills played a major role in the equitable reapportionment of local
districts within the city of Shreveport; she has continued her role as an active participant in
community affairs since the end of her service to the police jury; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills is a dedicated civil rights activist and an active member of
the NAACP; she is a former member of the NAACP's Executive Board Committee; she
successfully lobbied for the renaming of Stoner Hill Elementary, which is now known as
E.B. Williams Stoner Hill Elementary Lab School, to properly honor the school's pioneering
principal and promote a closer sense of community; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills worked to honor the community activism and spiritual
leadership of longtime Hopewell Baptist Church pastor Reverend Dr. C.E. Galloway, and
her efforts resulted in Hopewell Street being renamed C.E. Galloway Boulevard; and
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WHEREAS, in 2006, Ms. Wills dictated an oral history of her activism, culture, and
professional life, and the dictation can be heard at the Norton Art Gallery; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills is a graduate of Shreveport Business College and she worked
for Western Electric, which is now AT&T, from 1969 until her retirement in 2001; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills was married to the late Joe Robert Wills for fifty-two years;
their union was blessed with two sons, Reverend Jerard Wills and the late Jerado Wills, and
four grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills is a longtime member of St. Peter Baptist Church, and she
is actively involved as a Sunday school teacher and member of the Mission and Deaconess
Boards; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Wills is a fervent supporter of equitable educational opportunities,
which she believes are pivotally important for a community's growth and prosperity; she also
supports the parent teacher student associations at Claiborne Elementary and
Queensborough Elementary, and is an active alumnus from the class of 1963 at Booker T.
Washington High School; and
WHEREAS, Shirley Wills is an inspiring woman and political trailblazer in Caddo
Parish, and she is most deserving of the highest recognition for dedicated service to her
community.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Shirley Wills, the first African American
woman elected to the Caddo Parish Police Jury, for her exemplary leadership and service to
Caddo Parish and does hereby extend sincere wishes that she remain prosperous in all of her
endeavors.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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