Deborah Louise “Debbie” Mills-Batchelor, 73 years old, became an ancestor on Saturday, February 10, 2024. Her celebration of life will be held on Friday, March 1, from 1 pm to 5 pm at Loft 17, located at 1000 S. Easton Rd. – Suite 110, Wyncote, PA 19095 (inside Cedarbrook Plaza, across from Fresh Grocer).
Ms. Batchelor was one of the known and celebrated members of the Cecil B. Moore Philadelphia Freedom Fighters. At 14 years old, she was one of those who shed blood in the campaign to desegregate Girard College. As police officers rushed the non-violent protesters, Ms. Batchelor was attacked and mauled by the police dogs and a boot cop pressing his foot on her stomach. As a result, she never got over that assault.
During her teenage years, Ms. Batchelor developed a love for working with Black children. She was a contributor to the opening of the Ridge Avenue Freedom Library School, which became Freedom Library Daycare, where her nephews and nieces later attended.
Following her diploma from Allen High School, Asheville, NC, she earned a BA from her beloved Barber-Scotia College, Concord, NC, and an MA from Antioch University, Yellow Springs, OH.
Ms. Batchelor believed in and committed herself to the realization of Black potential and excellence! Inspired by a family history of entrepreneurship, she established Hunting Park Avenue Daycare. At the daycare center, she prepared hundreds of low-income Black preschoolers, their parents, and her staff for literacy and life in a hostile and competitive world. Along with the daycare center, she worked in the Philadelphia Public School System for over 30 years–as an elementary school educator. She worked with the profoundly disabled and later transferred to University High School, where she was the beloved sponsor of the cheerleaders for years.
Ms. Batchelor was a founding member of Swing Phi Swing Social Fellowship Inc., a socially conscious organization. Her activities included weekly food shares, clothing drives, tutoring at-risk teenagers, and the revival of Barber-Scotia College. She was much appreciated in Greenville, South Carolina, for her support of the multimedia Malcolm X Center for Self Determination and the Enhancement of Human Rights.
Ms. Batchelor was the recipient of various achievements and recognitions; she was recognized with a citation in 2013 from the City Council of Philadelphia for her courage and activism in the desegregation of Girard College. In 2017, she was recognized with another citation by the City Council of Philadelphia for her role as an organizer in the 1967 student walk-out demonstration. She also received a lifetime achievement award from SCOOP USA Media for “Devoting Her Life to Fighting for Freedom & Inequality.”
Ms. Batchelor, a sensitive and ever-supportive soul, is already missed by many. May we prove ourselves worthy of her tolerance, generosity, service, and love by picking up and advancing the work to which she laid her hands.
Deborah “Debbie” Batchelor was married to the late Robert Batchelor and is survived by her daughter Nekeira Genine Batchelor, grandchildren Nakeir Batchelor, Rahajahi Taylor-Batchelor, Suhaylah Batchelor, Huzaifah Batchelor, Maniyah Harris, Kumai Ammons, and Bianca Garcia. Siblings Efia Nwangaza, Bernyce Mills-DeVaughn, and David J. Mills, nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family, and a host of close friends.
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