Kirk Watson: “I rise to honor the life of Josie Gray Bain, a brilliant woman who was a dedicated wife, mother, and pioneer educator…”

“I rise to honor the life of Josie Gray Bain, a brilliant woman who was a dedicated wife, mother, and pioneer educator, who I had the distinct honor to work with closely when I served on the Los Angeles School Board. Josie Gray Bain was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where she attended elementary and high school. Shortly after graduation from high school, she met and married Reverend John C. Bain of Los Angeles. In the fall of 1930, Josie Bain relocated to Spring Hill, Tennessee, where she and her husband began their first ministerial appointment. Their son, John David, was born soon thereafter. Both Josie and her husband enrolled at Drake University, where Josie received her B.S. degree with honors and continued to do graduate work there. In 1942, Josie Bain moved with her husband to Los Angeles, California. She completed her graduate studies at California State College in Los Angeles, Immaculate Heart College, and the University of Southern California. In 1948, she began her career in education with the Los Angeles Unified School District as an elementary schoolteacher at Marianna Avenue Elementary School. After teaching several years, she was promoted to positions of ever-increasing responsibility. Josie ended her brilliant career as Associate Superintendent of Instruction, the first African American in the history of the Los Angeles Unified School District to be appointed to the position.…”