Lessons from The Norfolk 17

The daughter of Navy Master Chief Petty Officer James and Majorie Turner, Patricia Turner was one of "The Norfolk 17" who integrated Norfolk schools in 1959.  This civil rights pioneer endured years of racism to graduate in the top of her class of over 400 seniors at Norview High School.  After high school, Turner moved to Richmond, then Philadelphia, where she attended Thomas Jefferson University and worked as a pediatric nurse from 1977 to 1986.  Moving back home to Norfolk, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics at Norfolk State University in 1990 and her Masters of Science in Education in 1997 at Old Dominion University.  She taught at Blair Middle School in Norfolk from 1992 until her retirement in 2008.  That year, Old Dominion University bestowed an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters on Patricia “Pat” Turner for her contributions to Civil Rights in America.