At 111-years-old Lela Babb Burden has proven that it’s never too late to get your education. Burden was awarded an honorary high school diploma from Booker T. Washington High School. Norfolk Public Schools superintendent Samuel T. King awarded Burden this diploma because she was denied access to the school as a young girl.
Burden was born on May 7, 1903 and blacks had only been free from bondage for 43 years. When she was of high school age the great influenza pandemic closed public buildings in Norfolk, Virginia in 1918. She took jobs cleaning houses for 50 cents a day as well as working at a restaurant for $3 a week. So high school was never an option for her. Despite her hard working life she never allowed her mind to dull. She kept herself up to date on social issues and was a source of wisdom and love for many. Burden said about her early life, “You just worked for an honest living.”
King said of Burden, “Mrs. Burden has contributed to this community for 111 years. She made sacrifices, but she never relinquished her commitment to lifelong learning. We are privileged to provide her with an honorary high school diploma, symbolizing the vital importance of a free and appropriate public education for all.”
Burden had these words to say, “I just thank God that he let me live,” she said. “I hope I’ll be here a long time.”
