AL HR275

Mr. Jimmy "Jim" Knight died on March 31, 2022, at the age of 83, leaving a void in his family and community where he was highly regarded.

Mr. Knight was born February 21, 1939, in Finchburg, Alabama, and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree from Grambling College on a four-year athletic scholarship, plus advanced degrees from the University of South Alabama and Alabama State University.

Mr. Knight served as the first African American Principal of Theodore High School, became Assistant Superintendent of Student Services for Mobile County Public Schools, and later served as the fifth Executive Director of Mobile Community Action, Inc., where the West Mobile Head Start Center was named in his honor in 2013.

Mr. Knight served as a Deacon and Sunday School Teacher at Ebenezer Baptist Church and held leadership positions on the boards of Mobile Works, the Senior Bowl Committee, the Mobile Sports Hall of Fame, and the American Red Cross, earning the Tillman's Corner Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year award in 1987.

Mr. Knight is survived by his wife of 55 years, Johnnie Mae Knight; two adult children; multiple siblings; and five grandchildren, and the House of Representatives records his death with deep sadness and offers tribute to his life and heartfelt sympathy to his family.