South Carolina H 3959: M. LaNelle Kohn, Black History Month honoree

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 3959 Text of Previous Version (Feb. 12, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 3959

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A house RESOLUTION

TO HONOR THE LIFE AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF PROMINENT 
AFRICAN AMERICAN EDUCATOR M. LANELLE KOHN OF COLUMBIA.

Whereas, the daughter 
of Lenzo C. and Vasteen Kohn, M. LaNelle was born a twin and one of five 
children. She attended the public schools of Richland School District One, 
graduating from Booker T. Washington High School in 1968. In furtherance of her 
education, she obtained a bachelor's degree in biology from Benedict College in 
Columbia and studied further at South Carolina State University, Clemson 
University, Furman University, the College of Charleston, and the Georgia 
Institute of Technology. Mrs. Kohn received her MAT from the University of 
South Carolina in health education; and

Whereas, this dedicated 
educator and member of Phi Beta Kappa taught for twenty-two years in Richland 
School District One and continued her work as a science specialist with the 
State Department of Education, from which she retired in 2008; and

Whereas, as a member of 
the First Nazareth Baptist Church Trustee Ministry, she was elected the first 
female chair and served from 2000 to 2006. A servant-leader of her church in 
various capacities for fifty years, Mrs. Kohn also serves as a board member of 
the Booker T. Washington High School Foundation and is the longtime treasurer 
of the Columbia Branch NAACP. She is a life member of the latter organization; 
and

Whereas, in addition, 
Mrs. Kohn has been a member of several national, state, and local organizations 
and continues to hold office in a few of them. She has received, among many 
other honors, the 2008 South Carolina Science Council William F. Palmer Award 
for Exemplary Service to the council, and she has enjoyed the privilege of 
serving as presenter for the National Association of Science Educators in 
Washington, D.C. (2014), as well as science presenter for the Southern 
Association of Colleges & University Presidents in Albany, New York (2004); 
and

Whereas, the legacy of 
M. LaNelle Kohn endures today through the students she taught and the adults 
she influenced as an educator. Still creating that legacy, she has two 
ambitions as a retiree: to pass on to children and adults the love of science, 
especially in the fields of physics and chemistry, and to teach them to swim. 
Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House 
of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, honor 
the life and achievements of prominent African American educator M. LaNelle 
Kohn of Columbia.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution 
be presented to M. LaNelle Kohn.

----XX----

This web page was last updated on February 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM