Dr. Asa Grant Hilliard, III, Pan-Africanist, Educator, Historian  and Psychologist, 

Has Passed From This Life  

A Lifetime Teacher of  African and African Diaspora History

"I am a teacher, a psychologist and a historian. As such, I am interested in the aims, the methods and the content of the socialization processes that we ought to have in place to create wholeness among our people."

--Dr. Asa G. Hilliard III

Atlanta , GA (8-14, 2007) Dr. Asa Grant Hilliard, III, world renowned Pan-Africanist educator, historian, and psychologist, passed from this life on August 13, 2007 in Cairo , Egypt . Dr. Hilliard was in Egypt to deliver a keynote lecture at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilization (ASCAC), an organization he helped found. He was also lecturing for a study trip led by Rev. Jeremiah Wright of Chicago . The cause of death is attributed to complications from malaria.  “Dr. Hilliard was in his favorite place, with his favorite person – our mother, when he died,” said his daughter, Robi Hilliard Herron.

Dr. Hilliard was married for nearly 50 years to the Honorable Patsy Jo Hilliard, former mayor of East Point , GA and former school board member for the South San Francisco Unified School District .

Born in Galveston , TX on August 22, 1933 to Asa G. Hilliard II and Dr. Lois O. Williams. Dr. Hilliard graduated from Manual High School (1951) in Denver , CO . He received a B.A. from the University of Denver (1955) and taught in the Denver Public Schools before joining the U.S. Army, where he served as a First Lieutenant, platoon leader, and battalion executive officer in the Third Armored Infantry (1955-1957). He later received his M.A. in Counseling (1961) and Ed.D. in Educational Psychology (1963) from the University of Denver . In pursuit of his education, Dr. Hilliard worked in many occupations including as a teacher in the Denver Public Schools, as a railroad maintenance worker, and as a bartender, waiter and cook.

The professional career of Dr. Hilliard spans the globe.  He was on the faculty at San Francisco State University; consultant to the Peace Corp in Liberia, West Africa; superintendent of schools in Monrovia, Liberia; and returned to San Francisco State as department chair and Dean of Education.  At the time of his death, Dr. Hilliard was the Fuller E. Calloway Professor of Urban Education at Georgia State University in Atlanta where he held joint appointments in the Department of Educational Policy Studies and the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education.

Dr. Hilliard was a Board Certified Forensic Examiner and Diplomate of both the American Board of Forensic Examiners and the American Board of Forensic Medicine. He served as lead expert witness in several landmark federal cases on test validity and bias, including Larry P. v. Wilson Riles in California, Mattie T. v. Holliday in Mississippi, Deborah P. v. Turlington in Florida, and also in two Supreme Court cases, Ayers v. Fordice in Mississippi, and Marino v. Ortiz in New York City.  Dr. Hilliard has lectured at leading universities and other institutions throughout the world, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Geographic Society.

As a distinguished consultant, Dr. Hilliard has worked with many of the leading school districts, publishers, public advocacy organizations, universities, government agencies and private corporations on valid assessment, African content in curriculum, teacher training, and public policy. Several of his programs in pluralistic curriculum, assessment, and valid teaching have become national models. Dr. Hilliard designed the approach and selected the essays that appeared in The Portland Baseline Essays ( Portland , OR ) which represent the first time that a comprehensive global and longitudinal view of people of African ancestry has been presented in a curriculum.

In 2001, Dr. Hilliard was enstooled as Development Chief for Mankranso , Ghana and given the name Nana Baffour Amankwatia, II, which means “generous one.”  Dr. Hilliard spent more than thirty years leading study groups to Egypt and Ghana , as part of his mission of teaching the truth about the history of Africa and the African Diaspora.  He co-chaired the First National Conference on the Infusion of African and African- American Content in the School Curriculum in Atlanta . Dr. Hilliard was a founding member and First Vice President of the Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations and a founding member of the National Black Child Development Institute.  Dr. Hilliard was also a key advisor for the African Education for Every African Child Conference, held in Mali and sponsored by the government of Mali . 

Research & Writings

Dr. Hilliard has authored more than a thousand publications including journal articles, magazine articles, special reports, chapters in books, and books. Some of his publications include  The Maroon Within Us: Selected Essays on African American Community Socialization (Black Classic Press 1995); SBA:  The Reawakening of the African Mind (Makare Publishing 1997),: and African Power:  Affirming African Indigenous Socialization in the Face of the Cultural Wars (Makare Publishing, 2002), to name a few.  He also co-wrote The Teachings of Ptahhotep, the Oldest Book in the World  by Asa G. Hilliard, III. Williams, Larry. Damali, Nia Hilliard (Paperback - 1987) Blackwood Press and Young, Gifted, and Black: Promoting High Achievement Among African American Students (Beacon Press, 2004). Additionally, he edited Testing African American Students, Nos 2 and 3: Special Issue of the Negro Educational Review Julian Richardson Assoc. Pub. (December 1990).

Awards

He has received hundreds of awards and recognitions from many prestigious organizations and institutions including the Morehouse College "Candle in the Dark Award in Education,"  National Alliance of Black School Educators "Distinguished Educator Award,"  American Evaluation Association, President's Award,  Republic of Liberia Award as Knight Commander of the Humane Order of African Redemption, New York Society of Clinical Psychologists Award for Outstanding Research, Scholarly Achievement, and Humanitarian Service, Association of Black Psychologists Distinguished Psychologist Award,  Association of Teacher Educators Distinguished Leadership Award, an award from the Kappa Delta Pi Honor Society Laureate Chapter, American Educational Research Association Committee on the Role & Status of Minorities in Education, Research & Development Distinguished Career Contribution Award,  American Association of Higher Education Black Caucus, Harold Delaney Exemplary Educational Leadership Award,  American Association of Colleges for Teacher Thurgood Marshall Award for Excellence, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary observance of the Brown v. Board of Education Topeka decision.  Dr. Hilliard was a fellow with the American Psychological Association and has received honorary degrees from DePaul University , Doctor of Humane Letters; and Wheelock College , Doctor of Education.

Family

He is survived by his wife, Patsy Jo Hilliard and four children: Asa G. Hilliard, IV, Robi Hilliard Herron, Dr. Patricia Hilliard-Nunn and Michael Hakim Hilliard and seven grandchildren.

For those friends and colleagues who wish to give comments and expressions about the life and works of Dr. Asa G. Hilliard or to give remembrances to the family, you may do so by clicking here .

Dr. Hilliard’s family is requesting that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Per Maat Foundation, Inc., P. O. Box 357171 , Gainesville , FL 32635 .  The Per Maat Foundation is a non-profit public foundation created to educate people about African and African Diaspora history and culture. All contributions are tax deductible.

Funeral Arrangements:

Gus Thornhill Funeral Home

1315 Gus Thornhill Jr Drive
East Point, GA 30344

ARRANGEMENTS:

Wednesday, August 22, 2007  
Noon to 6:00 PM  
Lay in State

6 – 8:00 PM  
Acclamation of Legacy and Community
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
Morehouse College


Thursday, August 23, 2007
11:00 AM
Celebration of Life
Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel
Morehouse College