Dorothy Dawson, long-time youth advocate and track & field pioneer died November 17 in Illinois. She was 91.
Born October 23, 1930, Ms. Dawson was a long-time teacher, vice principal, and Dean of Girls at Dunbar Vocational High School on Chicago’s south side in the Bronzeville neighborhood. She organized a track and field program for girls at Dunbar before the sport became recognized and helped many young women earn full scholarships to college.
She retired from teaching in the Chicago Public School system in 1997 after 35 years.
She was the first female to be inducted into the Illinois Coaches Hall of Fame and served as the president of USATF Illinois from 2000-2013. She served on the Youth Athletics Executive Committee and is a former USATF Youth Regional Committee Chair. She received a USATF President’s Award in 1998 for her many decades of distinguished service. She held numerous positions in the USA Track and Field Illinois Association and she has received numerous awards including the Frank Sevigne Award, Robert Giegengack Award, USATF President’s Award, and she was a delegate to USA Track and Field’s Constitutional Convention in 1979. She was honored in 2009 as the annual Dorothy Dawson Invitational was launched at Proviso High School in Hillside, Illinois.
Services are pending.