Honorary street sign approved for Dr. Gloria Gilmer
Photo by Yvonne Kemp
On May 30, 2024, the City of Milwaukee Citizen Advisory Committee on the Naming of Streets voted to approve placing an honorary street sign in the name of the late Dr. Gloria Ford Gilmer (who passed in 2021) at N. 6th Street and W. Highland Avenue on the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) campus.
In 2023, Dr. Gilmer became the first black female mathematician to have her research papers archived at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The topic of her research was Ethnomathematics, a branch of mathematics that studies the connections between math and one’s culture as a vehicle for inspiring minority students to greater achievement in math. She was also the first black woman to earn a Ph.D. from the School of Education at Marquette University; and the first black high school math instructor for Milwaukee Public Schools. One of her proudest accomplishments was being the first black math instructor at MATC, where she taught for 14 years. The application for the honorary street sign was submitted by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Epsilon Kappa Omega Chapter (pictured above some years-ago with Dr. Gilmer), and supported by the Local 212 MATC Retirees. Dr. Gilmer was a long-time member of both organizations.
