OBITUARIES
Constance Parker, a civil rights leader and the second woman to serve as president of the Pittsburgh NAACP, died Thursday.
Ms. Parker, who was 74, had been ill after suffering multiple strokes.
A longtime NAACP member, she was elected president of the Pittsburgh branch in 2012 and served in that role until her health worsened several months ago.
Ms. Parker was born Aug. 29, 1942, in Philadelphia. She had been involved with the NAACP for more than 25 years at the time of her election, having held multiple positions within the organization, including first vice president.
She formerly worked as a community relations coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s District 11 headquarters and was a member of the Port Authority of Allegheny County board of directors. Her daughter, Twanda Carlisle of the East Hills, said her mother loved working as a liaison because she got to interact with people.
Ms. Parker also served on several advisory boards, including those of Pittsburgh Community Services and Duquesne University.
“She would have been doing it ’til the day she died if her health didn’t interfere,” Ms. Carlisle said, describing her mother as a “woman of character and dignity.”
Ms. Carlisle said her mother also was the first African-American woman in the region to complete IBM’s customer engineering program. She remembered her mother going out of town for school to learn to fix technology like copiers and typewriters.
Tim Stevens, chairman of the Black Political Empowerment Project who has known Ms. Parker since before he served as Pittsburgh NAACP president in the 1990s, said her commitment to civil rights remained steady even as her health declined. He added that she was particularly passionate about promoting voting and political engagement in the community.
“I appreciate that in her because she was struggling, but her spirit was strong and her commitment remained strong,” he said. “Even when I saw her in the hospital, she was undimmed by the condition she was experiencing.” Richard Stewart Jr., NAACP first vice president who took over as acting president earlier this spring, described Ms. Parker as a “staunch fighter for the underdog.”
“She did the best she could for everybody she came in contact with,” he said, adding that she was a good person and a good mother.
Mayor Bill Peduto said he knew Ms. Parker for nearly 30 years and praised her civil rights efforts.
“She was a civil rights leader who was never afraid to speak her mind and lend her voice to those that did not have one. You never had to guess what Connie was thinking — she fought for justice and she was never afraid to tell you the truth. Constance Parker was instrumental in the civil rights movement in Pittsburgh for decades and will be dearly missed,” Mr. Peduto said in a statement.
Ms. Carlisle said her mother was firm but loving. She would give her and her brother “the eye” when they misbehaved at the store, but would still buy them a treat.
Curtis Parker, Ms. Parker’s son, said she acted as both his mother and his father. He added that the qualities he learned from her — like how to be a leader and how to deal with difficult times — will stay with him. Of all of Ms. Parker’s accomplishments, he said that he knows her children — and her grandchildren — topped the list.
Mr. Parker also said his mother was the cleanest person he knew, always keeping the house “immaculate” to the extent that most visitors remarked on it. With Ms. Parker being a nonsmoker, he added “I hope there’s a no-smoking section in heaven.”
“I just want everybody to realize that we’ve lost a great pioneer,” Mr. Parker said. “But at the same time, look at what we’ve gained from what and how she lived.”
As a respected local figure, Ms. Carlisle said her mother acted as a “sounding board” for the community, hearing complaints and offering opinions.
She said her mother believed in getting young people involved with the NAACP, and cared especially about causes like increasing dinner funds and making sure the Duquesne School of Law Civil Rights Clinic continued to provide their services to the organization on a monthly probono basis.
In addition to Ms. Carlisle and Mr. Parker, Ms. Parker is survived by two brothers, James Downing Jr. and William Downing, both of California, and two grandchildren.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Spriggs-Watson Funeral Home in Homewood. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Petra International Ministries in Penn Hills.