Donald Payne

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues one of the tireless soldiers in the army of justice and equality--Daniel Williams. Danny, as he is affectionately known, was honored by the Giblin Association on Sunday, February 18, 1996. Tribute was paid to him for his dedication to a number of communities--labor, civic, and social. Over the years, Danny has taken his place amongst a variety of individuals to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to live, learn, and succeed. Most of his work has been done in conjunction with the labor movement. A strong labor activist, Danny has used his experience and opportunities to draw attention to matters that affect the very fiber of our community. He is active with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68-68A-68B. He serves this organization as director of community relations. He uses this position to interact with the national organizations of the NAACP, the Urban League, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, as well as other civil rights organizations. Danny is also active in his local community. He is a member of the Executive Board of the Vailsburg Block Association and the Reynolds Place Block Association. He is a district leader representing the 36th district of Newark's west ward for the Essex County Democratic Committee. Always willing to serve, he is the sergeant-at-arms for the executive board of the Essex County Democratic Committee. I am proud to have this dedicated citizen in my district. I offer my congratulations and best wishes to Danny and his wife, Bernice.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues a dedicated leader and servant of the people, Rev. Dr. Granville A. Seward. Rev. Dr. Seward is celebrating his 28th anniversary as pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Newark, NJ. Rev. Dr. Granville A. Seward was licensed to preach at the age of 17. He accepted the pastorate at the First Baptist Church of Rendville, OH, when he was 22. He is a graduate of Ohio State University. He received the master of divinity and doctor of divinity degrees from the Colgate Rochester Divinity School. Rev. Dr. Seward is a member of the board of trustees at the Colgate Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary. For many years Rev. Dr. Seward diligently prepared for his place in a changing society. His education and life experiences have been used to focus on the topic of his doctoral thesis, ``The New Creation and the Emergence of a New Humanity.'' He has pragmatically looked at his church and our community and has developed programs that address the burgeoning needs of a diverse congregation and community. He has taken an active role in our community by serving as a member of the Newark Board of Education. He is also the dean of the Open Forum Baptist Ministers Conference of Newark and Vicinity. Rev. Dr. Seward is the first pastor of Newark's Mt. Zion Baptist Church to ordain women deacons. He instituted prayer services at non- traditional times to better serve our population. He has developed feeding and clothing programs for the less fortunate. He implemented various types of ministries within Mt. Zion, where ``every member is a minister'' is emphasized. Mr. Speaker, when we look at the shepherd who is tending his flock well, Rev. Dr. Granville A. Seward is among the chosen. I am sure my colleagues will join me as I extend my congratulations and best wishes to Rev. Dr. Seward, his wife, four children, and two grandchildren.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to call to the attention of my colleagues here in the U.S. House of Representatives a very special event, the 25th Newark Teen Arts Festival, a display of visual and performing arts by the students in the Newark Public Schools Secondary Program. This annual event, which will be held on March 9, is a cooperative effort of the Newark Public Schools--Office of Art, Office of Music Education, and the Junior League of Montclair-Newark, Inc., which has sponsored the festival from its inception in 1971. During this silver anniversary celebration, student artworks will be exhibited in the Mutual Benefit Life Community Gallery. Highlighted will be a selection of the crafts, drawings, graphics, photographs, paintings, and sculptures created by students in the senior high schools. The performing arts portion will feature varied vocalists, musical and choral selections, showcasing the talent of Newark's secondary youth. During the 24 years of the Newark Teen Arts Festival, the Newark Museum has exhibited more than 3,000 secondary student visual artworks and hosted the high school performances of over 100 musicians, dancers, vocalists, choral groups, and plays. The festival brings the local community together in a wonderful spirit of cultural appreciation and enjoyment. As the representative of Newark and Montclair, I am proud of the accomplishments of these fine young people, and I applaud the work of the Junior League in making this annual event possible. Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in sending our congratulations on this special silver anniversary and our best wishes for continued success.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of my special order tonight.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I think all our time has expired. I appreciate the gentleman coming.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman very much for his kind remarks, and we know the family will appreciate that being done here at Black History Month, and we appreciate your contribution. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana, Mr. Cleo Fields.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you very much. That was certainly very stirring. I could not agree with you more that Representative Collins has served this Congress so well, and I thank you for bringing that to our attention. At this time we will hear from the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Barcia].

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, let me just thank the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Watt] for that very interesting presentation. Let me at this time recognize the gentleman from the State of Illinois, a person who is no stranger to the struggle, one who we are proud to have as one of our colleagues, Mr. Bobby Rush from Illinois.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much. That was really a very moving story. We appreciate the gentleman bringing that to history. There are so many unsung heroes, as the gentleman mentioned, and I really appreciate his contributing that to our special order tonight. Mr. Speaker, I now yield to the gentleman from North Carolina [Mr. Watt], a gentleman who has brought a great deal of new energy also into the Congress.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for that eloquent statement. We certainly appreciate the outstanding work that she has brought into this 104th Congress. I now yield to the gentleman from the great State of Georgia, Mr. Sanford Bishop.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for that tremendous insight. She really is one of our outstanding leaders. Now let me recognize the gentlewoman from the great State of Texas, Sheila Jackson-Lee.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am pleased to lead my colleagues in once again commemorating Black History Month. Let me take a moment to acknowledge the leadership of our colleague, Congressman Lou Stokes, who organized tonight's special order. A health problem has prevented him from being here tonight, and we want him to know we wish him a speedy recovery. He has been diligent in arranging special orders every year during the month of February, Black History Month. It was in 1976, the bicentennial year, that Congress first passed a resolution to institute a celebration of Black History Month. This year, we have chosen the theme ``African-American Women-- Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow'' in recognition of the enormous contributions that African-American women have made to our history and culture. In every field of endeavor--public service, politics, law, medicine, literature, corporate management, education, and others-- African-American women are achievers. Let me begin by recognizing the women of the Black Caucus serving in the 104th Congress. They have inspired tremendous respect as each has approached issues before this Congress with eloquence, passion, and keen insight. Not only have they left their mark on public policy, they serve as outstanding role models for young women and aspirations to public service. Let us also recognize the great women of past Congresses, the trailblazers whose dreams made today's realities possible. Since 1969, when Shirley Chisholm was sworn in as the first African-American woman to serve in Congress, the door of opportunity has been opening and the Congressional Black Caucus now includes 11 women. In yet another first, Shirley Chisholm ran for President in 1972, placing her name on the ballot in 12 primary contests. We had an historic first in 1992 with the stunning victory of Carol Moseley-Braun as she took her place as the first African-American to serve in the U.S. Senate. This year marked the passing of one of our greatest leaders of all times, the Honorable Barbara Jordan. A staunch defender of the Constitution, Barbara Jordan was a tower of strength during the Watergate crisis, one of the most troubling times in our Nation's history. As the first African-American Congresswoman from a southern State, and as the first African-American woman to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, she was a true pioneer in the field of public service. A forthright woman of courage and dignity, she will be greatly missed. Let me take a moment to recognize all of the African-American women who have served so honorably in the U.S. Congress, beginning with Shirley Chisholm and followed by Yvonne Brathwaite Burke; Cardiss Collins, who is the longest serving African-American woman in the history of Congress; our great champion Barbara Jordan; Katie Hall, Barbara-Rose Collins, Eleanor Holmes Norton; Maxine Waters; Eva Clayton; Corrine Brown; Eddie Bernice Johnson; Cynthia McKinney; Carrie Meek; Sheila Jackson-Lee; and Senator Carol Moseley-Braun. Let me also pay tribute to an outstanding Cabinet member, Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary, whom I have had the pleasure of knowing for many years going back to our days growing up together in New Jersey. In her position at the Department of Energy, she has worked tirelessly on issues ranging from energy development to the health effects of radiation testing. She has achieved tremendous success in negotiating trade agreements with a potential value to our Nation of billions of dollars. Also rendering outstanding service in the executive branch are Lorraine Miller, who formerly served as Deputy Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs and now holds a post in the Federal Trade Commission; Alexis Herman, Director of Public Liaison at the White House; and Tracey Thornton, Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs. I am proud of the many accomplished African-American women who hail from my home State of New Jersey. In fact, I had a swearing in ceremony in Newark which was presided over by a distinguished African-American judge, Judge Ann Thompson. I also have crossed paths with Connie Woodruff, a former labor union representative who is now a columnist. Dr. Delores Cross, a New Jerseyan who has achieved excellence as an educator and administrator, now serves as president of Chicago State University. My home State of New Jersey is rich in a history which encompasses many famous African Americans. For example, Harriet Tubman, the famous operator of the underground railroad, worked as a servant in hotels in Cape May, NJ between 1849 and 1852 in order to earn money to finance her missions. In 1886, a school was established in New Jersey called the New Jersey Manual Training and Industrial School for Colored Youth; it was better known as the Bordentown School. Among the many distinguished visitors and commencement speakers was the great educator and civil rights champion, Mary McCleod Bethune. East Orange, NJ was the hometown of Marion Thompson Wright, the first African-American professional historian. She taught at Howard University until her death in 1962. Gail Elizabeth Harris was the first African-American priest in the diocese of Newark, NJ. The fifth woman ordained in the Episcopal Church, she graduated from the Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, CA. New Jersey was also home to the great tennis champion, Althea Gibson. In 1951, she became the first African American to play at Wimbledon. In 1957, she won both the singles and doubles Wimbledon crowns. One of the most successful African-American entrepreneurs, Sara Spence Washington, founded the Apex Beauty Products Co. in Atlantic City, NJ. Ms. Washington established her business in 1919, and by the late 1930's her Atlantic City office and factory had 87 employees, including chemists, clerks, bookkeepers, and beauty operators. With beauty schools in 11 cities, an estimated 35,000 individuals throughout the world were dependent on the sales of her products. African-American women were breaking into nontraditional roles long before women gained any degree of acceptance in the workplace. In the field of aviation, Bessie Coleman, who was born in 1893, became the first African-American woman to earn a pilot's license back in 1921. Then, in 1934, Willa Brown Chappell became the first African-American woman to gain officer rank--lieutenant--in the Civil Air Patrol Squadron. She went on to form the first black aviator's group and established the first black-owned flying school, the Coffey School of Aeronautics. African-American women have achieved a number of historic firsts in recent decades. Patricia Harris set records as she became the first African-American woman to be appointed an ambassador to an overseas post when President Lyndon Johnson chose her as Ambassador to Luxembourg; 2 years later she became the first to head the credentials committee of the Democratic National Committee; and then under President Jimmy Carter, she ascended to the position of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the first African-American woman to hold a Cabinet position. In 1973, Shirley Ann Jackson received a Ph.D. in physics and became the first African-American woman in the United States to receive a doctorate from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mae Jamison will take her place in history as the first African- American woman to become an astronaut, exploring the world of possibilities beyond the planet Earth. African-American women have also excelled in the creative and performing arts. The whole Nation took notice when Maya Angelou read her beautiful poetry at President Clinton's inauguration. Toni Morrison, the great novelist and editor, won a Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel ``Beloved'' and the National Book Critics Circle Award for ``Song of Solomon.'' Many Americans have enjoyed the music of jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald, who was hailed by Time Magazine as ``The First Lady of Song.'' Also gifted with a beautiful voice is Leontyne Price, the soprano singer, who won the San Francisco Opera Medal after performances in ``Falstaff,'' ``Porgy and Bess,'' and ``Anthony and Cleopatra.'' New York City's highest cultural award, the Handel Medallion, was awarded to the actress and singer Lena Horne, the first African- American woman to sign a contract. In Newark, NJ, we are very proud of our hometown star, Sarah Vaughan. Known as the Divine One, she was a premier jazz vocalist with many pop and jazz hits. As we honor famous African-American women, let us also pause to pay tribute to the millions of unsung heroines whose positive influence has made a difference in our lives. Every day, in every community, African- American women are working tirelessly and unselfishly to provide a better quality of life for those around them. They are volunteering in churches and community organizations, they are raising funds for scholarships so that the next generation can look to the future with hope; they are caring for older persons who might otherwise be forgotten. In my own life, in addition to the women in my family who gave me such encouragement and direction, I was fortunate to have many caring teachers and other concerned adults who helped guide me through the difficult times. I owe a debt of gratitude to a woman by the name of Mary Burch of Newark. She opened up her home and her heart to the young people of our community, organizing positive activities through an organization known as the Leaguers. Another woman who gave generously of her time and talents in the interest of young people is Ms. Madeline Williams, who served as an NAACP advisor when I was a young man. Under her guidance as a high school student, I was able to rise to the position of president of New Jersey Youth Councils and College Chapters of the NAACP. Last year, during the Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Conference, I had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Oceola McCarty, the woman from Mississippi who earned her living doing laundry and then donated her life's savings to a scholarship fund so that a deserving youngster would have the opportunity to succeed. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to pay tribute to all these outstanding African-American women--yesterday, today, and tomorrow. African-American women, from Maya Angelou, to Toni Morrison, to many people like Ella Fitzgerald and Leontyne Price, as we talk about people who have done so much in all fields, African-American women are certainly those. I will proceed as we go through this hour to talk about some other African-American women who have been so outstanding. But at this time I would ask the gentlewoman from Florida, Mrs. Meek, if she would come before us, Mrs. Carrie Meek, to tell us about her African-American women who have done so many outstanding things. (Mrs. MEEK of Florida asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an extraordinary group of young people from the country of South Africa. These individuals are members of the ``I Can'' Choir, which consists of 75 male singers who range in age from 14 to 24 years, and a coed traditional dance team. The ``I Can'' Choir was formed in August 1990 and has performed throughout South Africa receiving numerous honors and winning several competitions. These singers possess strong, powerful voices and because of the group's commitment and hard work, this current 4-week tour of the United States has become a reality. The choir members combine their talent with information to direct attention to and educate their audience about the development of post-apartheid South Africa. Their participation in the Black History Month program hosted by Mayor J. Christian Bollwage and Councilwoman Patricia Perkins-Auguste of the City of Elizabeth, NJ will help make this event extra special. In addition to singing, the choir will provide the audience with information on the historical effort to abolish apartheid and on actual conditions and challenges currently facing South Africa. As a member of the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations in the House, I am quite aware of the forces that help shape the decisions that are made in that country. I believe that it is important for our young people to use Black History Month to also become informed about conditions in African countries. Mr. Speaker, I urge you and all my colleagues to join me in saluting this wonderful group of young people from South Africa, the ``I Can'' Choir. I think that the members of the ``I Can'' Choir should be commended, not only for sharing their talent with the United States, but also for educating us about their country.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as we commemorate Black History Month, I would like my colleagues here in the U.S. House of Representatives to join me in saluting three true American heroes who will be honored at a special ceremony in New Jersey on February 22. On that date, as part of the County of Essex African Heritage Month celebration, a tribute will be paid to three Tuskegee Airmen--George Wanamaker, Howard L. Bragg, and George Watson, Jr. These three men earned a place in history through their heroic actions during World War II when they served with the Tuskegee Airmen, African-American combat pilots who flew over 1,500 combat missions and shot down more than 400 enemy aircraft. Sadly, in the segregated society of that era, these war heroes were not able to enjoy the full rights accorded to other citizens when they returned home to the United States. Through their struggles on foreign soil and at home, they remained determined, courageous, and dignified. Today, they continue to be involved in the betterment of their communities. Their story was the subject of a theatrical production at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC, as well as a television movie which was recently aired. Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues join me in expressing our appreciation to these men of unsurpassed bravery and patriotism who put their lives on the line overseas and confronted racial injustice at home. We recognize their sacrifice and honor them for their service to our country.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I have had the great privilege of serving as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus in the 104th Congress, taking over the reins from my good friend, Kweisi Mfume, who served with such distinction during the 103d Congress. He has been tremendously supportive and helpful to me, and I am personally grateful for his friendship and encouragement. Following his election to the House of Representatives in 1986, Congressman Mfume quickly gained a reputation as one of the most energetic and effective Members of Congress. As a member of the Banking and Financial Services Committee and the Small Business Committee, he has been active on a wide range of issues, including the development of minority business opportunities. He was successful in adding minority contracting and employment amendments to the Financial Institutions Reform and Recovery Act. He also played a leading role in strengthening the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and the Community Reinvestment Act. In addition, he was actively involved in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991. Congressman Mfume's election by this colleagues to serve as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus came at a historic point in time. President Clinton had just been elected along with 110 new Members of the House of Representatives. The Congressional Black Caucus had grown to include 39 House Members and 1 Senator. Congressman Mfume took on the task of chairing the Congressional Black Caucus with the same enthusiasm and tenacity which he brought to all of his other successful endeavors. He broadened the scope of the Caucus, reaching out to members of the business community, building new coalitions, and seeking the ideas and input of young people. While Congressman Mfume's presence in Congress will be greatly missed, we are thrilled that he will be using his talent and exceptional leadership ability to re-energize one of our Nation's most prominent civil rights organizations, the NAACP. Having joined the NAACP myself as a high school student, and later serving as the president of New Jersey youth councils and college chapters of the NAACP, I know the potential the organization has to guide our community through the challenges that lie ahead. In fact, I had the honor of attending the NAACP convention in 1957 when the prestigious Spingarn Award was bestowed on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As the next leader of the NAACP, Congressman Mfume will be following in the distinguished tradition of such giants as W.E.B. DuBois, Walter White, Roy Wilkins, and Benjamin Hooks. I am certain that he will approach the job with the same passion for justice and equality as these heros of the past. Just as his chosen name indicates, no obstacle will impede this ``conquering son of kings'' from achieving his goals. Let me just close by saying that Congressman Mfume has been an inspiration to all of us, and to many people, young and old, throughout this country. His rise from his Baltimore neighborhood to the halls of Congress, his success against the odds and his belief in himself remind us of the immortal words of Rudyard Kipling, that success will come ``If you can dream, and not make dreams your master; if you can think, and not make thoughts your aim; if you can meet with Triumph and Disaster, and treat those two imposters just the same * * *. If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: hold on * * *.'' Again, we congratulate Congressman Mfume and look forward to our continued association as he takes on this exciting new challenge.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the International Relations Committee, I question the invitation to French President Jacques Chirac's address to the joint session of Congress on tomorrow. I am strongly opposed to any nuclear tests in the South Pacific. The French have already conducted a total of 6 nuclear tests. They have directly violated international law. The United States has ratified Conventions and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaties. Chirac's tests are contradictory to the codes outlined in the ``Principles and Objectives for Disarmament.'' This was adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We are living in a post-cold-war era. The United States and its allies have made a commitment to nuclear non-proliferation. France has breached the contract by not adhering to the moratorium. On June 13, 1995, President Jacques Chirac ordered a series of nuclear tests in the South Pacific. This has outraged members of the international community. Chirac is endangering the land on and above the French Polynesia's coral atolls. They have conducted approximately 187 nuclear detonations since 1966. Radioactive materials from their tests have caused environmental damage. The coral reefs in the sea and the bordering islands have been affected by the nuclear explosions. Nuclear proliferation will not be tolerated in this post-cold war era. Despite many critical attempts to halt nuclear testing in the Pacific Basin by 166 nations, French nuclear testing remains. The threat of nuclear exposure is a concern not only to the people of Pacific but to all of us in the international community. We must curb the nuclear arms race with China, Iran, North Korea, and now even France. Mr. Speaker, if we allow Chirac to come and speak to the Members of Congress, we will be saying OK to the nuclear arms race. We should not support this measure.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Let me commend the gentlewoman from Texas for bringing this special order tonight, and also to say that your leadership here in your year in the House is, I think, something in the tradition of Barbara Jordan. I know those are big shoes to fill, but you have brought a great deal of dignity and self-respect, a great deal of knowledge into our House, and you should be commended for that. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, I am very pleased to participate in this special order, to join in this tribute to a very extraordinary American, whose service here in the U.S. House of Representatives earned her a national reputation, the Honorable Barbara Jordan. A graduate of Boston University's school of law, Ms. Jordan served as administrative assistant to Harris County Judge Bill Elliot in the early 1960's. In 1966, she made history through her election as the first African-American since 1883 to serve in the Texas Senate and did an outstanding, credible job there. After winning reelection to that office, she achieved another historical first for the State of Texas in 1972, when she captured the seat to serve in the 18th District of Texas in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although she was a newcomer, a freshman, a Member of the House of Representatives during the tumultuous 93d Congress when the Watergate scandal unfolded, as you heard earlier, she gained national reputation and respect through her eloquent performance during the House Committee on the Judiciary impeachment hearings, which was chaired by my predecessor, Peter Rodino. Peter Rodino used to talk many hours about the Watergate investigation, but any time he would lecture about Watergate. He is currently a professor at the Seton Hall School of Justice, the law school in Newark that is named after him, the Peter Rodino School of Social Justice. He would talk about Barbara Jordan and her interpretation of the Constitution, her eloquence, the way when she spoke everyone listened, and I felt that I knew Barbara personally because of Congressman Rodino and his experience there with her.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Thank you very much, and I will be brief. Representative Jordan's passion for a more just world was unsurpassed. She confirmed her vision in support of civil rights laws that would make our society a more equitable society. In June of 1975, when the House was extending the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for 10 additional years, she sponsored that legislation that broadened the group that would include Hispanic-Americans, Asian-Americans, and native Americans. In 1976 she was the first woman and the first African-American to deliver a keynote address at the Democratic national convention. She left the Congress to pursue her teaching career as a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin to teach and to work with students, young people whom she loved. Barbara Jordan will be remembered as a tower of strength whose unshakable strength saw us through a national crisis. She will forever remain a shining example of integrity, of courage in public service. I know that my colleagues join me in extending our condolences to her family and her friends. No doubt it is some comfort to know that future generations will continue to draw on the inspiration from her remarkable life and work.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the death of Delora Jones-Hicks has deprived the Nation of a woman of great magnitude and capacity. To those of us who knew her personally and to those who did not, there could be no finer example of conscientious humanity. She was a woman of principle. She always looked for and welcomed the good; and when she did not find it, she tried to encourage its development. Delora Elizabeth Crews was born to Lynwood Crews and Elizabeth Rogers Crews in Kittrell, NC, on April 29, 1937. The family moved to East Orange, NJ, in 1942. A graduate of East Orange public schools, she was educated in the fields of social science and health administration at Rutgers University, New Brunswick and Newark campuses; New Jersey School of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Studies at Rutgers University; Bucknell University; and C.J. Post College at Long Island University. With the late George ``Specs'' Hicks, she cofounded New Well, New Jersey's first private treatment center for drug addicts, with chapters in Newark, Passaic, Atlantic City, and Morristown. She served as a trustee and grants writer for the organization for more than 20 years, until its closing in 1989. Delora was director of women's training for the Business Industrial Coordinating Council in Newark during the 1960's. She also served for 1 year as the Community Liaison for the Newark Pre-School Council. She was secretary for the Newark-Essex Congress of Racial Equality [CORE] during the 1960's, and was active in the Newark Black Power Conference, as well as the political election of Newark's first African-American mayor, Kenneth A. Gibson. In 1968, she joined the staff of Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, as a writer for the department of public relations on the Newark campus. Delora also held the position of manager, division of concerts and lectures, in the early to mid-70's. As manager, she brought to the campus and to the larger community renowned artists such as Sarah Vaughn, Yehudi Menuhin, the Russian pianist O. Yablonskaya, and the great Count Basie Orchestra. Delora was an officer or chairman of the Organization of Black Faculty and Staff [OBFS] at Rutgers-Newark for nearly 15 years. She played a vital role in the naming of the campus center after Paul Robeson, Rutgers' distinguished alumnus. She spearheaded the annual celebration of Black History Month and the Martin Luther King, Jr., celebration, bringing to the campus such notable speakers as Amiri Baraka, Douglas Turner Ward, Linda Hopkins, Judge Bruce Wright, and Rev. Joseph Lowery. During her tenure as chair of OBFS, the number of blacks on faculty and staff as well as student enrollment increased. She was the heart and soul of OBFS--always vigilant, never giving up the fight to improve the status of blacks, women, Latinos, and the disadvantaged on campus. She launched the Justice William O. Douglas Award, a tribute to and recognition of the contribution of Caucasians to the cause of equal justice. With her love for knowledge and respect for education, Delora had an abiding affection for students, particularly law students, especially those who sought her out for advice, encouragement, and motivation to continue the journey. Delora briefly joined the staff of the Graduate Department of Public Administration at Rutgers-Newark, where she established and edited the first newsletter for the department, the M.P.A. Newsletter. She rejoined the staff of public information where she remained until her retirement in 1993. Delora was a member of the Newark Arts & Culture Committee, the NAACP, and served as a trustee on the Boys' and Girls' Clubs of Newark. Delora traveled abroad extensively in African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and to Spain, England, Greece, and widely throughout the United States. Delora was affectionately known as ``Big D'' to family and friends. In 1955, she married the late Charles Jones, Jr., of East Orange. The Union produced four children, Pamela Sawab, Erica Jones, Leila Bardaji, and Channing Jones. In 1986, she married the late George Hicks of Newark. She has six grandchildren, Farrakhan, Gibran, Al-Sawab, Elyse, Nicole, and Cayla. She was the sister of the late Lynwood Crews, Jr., and the late Regina Crews. She leaves her mother, Elizabeth, her children and grandchildren, sons-in-law, Sergio and Sawab, and a host of dearest friends, Erma and Oliver Brown, Kathy Brunet, Bob Clarke, Mae Curtis, Evelyn Green, Hilda Hidalgo, Irene Laini James, Adele Kaplan, Clement Alexander Price, and Norman Samuels, among others. Delora and the way she lived her life should be examples for all of us. I would like to commend to the annals of American history these remarks and an article that appeared in New Jersey's statewide newspaper, the Star-Ledger on January 19, 1996. Columnist Robert J. Braun in this tribute to Delora truly captured the essence of this remarkable woman. [From the Star-Ledger, Jan. 19, 1996] Newark Heroine Always Preferred the Color Human (By Robert J. Braun) No pastels for Delora Jones-Hicks. They wouldn't suit her, and besides, that's what she told her friends when they came to visit her in her last days. She wanted to be buried in a purple dress and she wanted flowers in bright colors, reds and blues and yellows and oranges with lots of greens to set them off. All from different florists, so they would not look the same. Her friends averted their eyes and one would say, ``Oh, come on, Delora, who's talking about a funeral?'' That's when she gave that look. God had sculpted Delora's broad face so the edges of her lips ended in dimples that made her look as if she were always suppressing a smile that was about to erupt in uproarious laughter. She knew, the look said. She fought cancer for five years and it was time for her friends to help her with the funeral she wanted. That purse-lipped expression served Delora well because it served her friends well. No matter how angry they were, or sad, or confused, when they came to her and saw she was about to smile, they smiled, too. ``Oh, shush,'' Delora would say. ``It's not that bad.'' Then she would laugh and things never were that bad once you talked to Delora. She wasn't much for calling attention to herself or wanting to see her name in print. Despite that, Delora did more to make life in Newark livable than a dozen more familiar names. She did it by being a friend. All right, so that sounds hokey and, in a way, there was something about Delora that was hokey. Someone at her funeral said she had this ``Sunday morning going to church lady with the white gloves'' side to her. That does not explain how she defused one racial crisis after another at Rutgers in Newark or how she fought to ensure that the campus got its fair share from the people who ran things in New Brunswick. It doesn't explain her leadership of the local Congress of Racial Equality or an organization representing black students, staff and faculty at Rutgers-Newark. She was eulogized by blacks and whites and Hispanics, but some who spoke struggled with useless pre-packaged categories. Amiri Baraka called her a ``middle-class sister'' with a ``street side.'' No, that's wrong. She was bigger than class, than race, than the streets. Historian Clement Price came close when he said she was concerned ``about the state of her race and that, of course, was the human race.'' She was ``fervently loyal to her friends . . . and her friendship was uncluttered.'' Uncluttered by race, by rhetoric, by obsession with slights and symbols, by the armor we have fashioned to keep us from seeing one another. Her only armor was this: Her eyes did not stop at the color of skin or the texture of hair. She fought hard, but people were never her enemies. They had children, just as she did, she would say. They had parents. They got sick and they worried about money. They might be wrong, but they were still people. When the Rutgers administration wanted to dump her old boss, Malcolm Talbott, the vice president for Newark, she asked her friends to support him. This was strange. Talbott was a Midwest WASP, who looked like a Prussian general and spoke like an Oxford don. Yet Delora knew he was good for Newark. Besides, he was her friend. So, while her bosses in Rutgers were telling the world why Talbott had to go, she was in a back office on the phone, telling the same people why he should stay. He stayed--and the people in New Brunswick never knew the provenance of all his support. Nor did Talbott. Her friendship was uncluttered by the expectation of return. She was known for the thank-you notes she sent--`` `Thank you' were her two most favorite words.'' Price said--but she never expected to be thanked. Price said she had a ``voice from another time and another place,'' a reference to an odd, lispy accent no one, not even her children, could identify. Not Southern, although she was born in North Carolina; not Newark, although she spent most of her life here. Just Delora. It was from another time and place, and we don't know the accent because we haven't been there yet. If the pathology of how we live in a savagely divided time and place somehow were cured, we might all speak with her accent. She died Jan. 4, and was buried in a snowstorm. Mourners, faces hidden by hats, scarves and umbrellas, passed by, each dropping a flower. When the last left, an uproarious profusion of reds and blues and yellows and oranges laughed at the blinding white of snow veined through with black trees. No pastels for Delora Jones-Hicks.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I would like to bring to the attention of my colleagues a unique individual who was honored this past weekend with a surprise appreciation dinner. That person is Raymond Milam. This tribute focused on Mr. Milam's role in the education of the children of New Jersey, especially those children living in urban areas. Ray Milam coordinates the professional services of the New Jersey School Boards Association's Technical Assistance Unit. The unit helps the 30 special needs school districts identified in a New Jersey Supreme Court decision on the State's school funding laws. In addition, the Technical Assistance Unit services the remaining 32 urban boards of education in 17 of the State's 21 countries. Ray Milam is an active advocate and service provider for parents, children, and urban educators. Mr. Miram is a graduate of Hampton University. He received his graduate degree from the University of Iowa. Throughout his professional career he has been a teacher, consultant, trainer, local school district administrator, and State Department of Education director. During his tenure with the New Jersey School Boards Association, Mr. Milam has had the opportunity to impact on our urban school districts in many positive ways. Understanding the special needs of our urban young people, he has been able to develop training programs that have helped sensitize members of school boards, as well as school administrators and faculty. More importantly, he has used his position to recommend and introduce highly qualified professionals to urban school districts which were looking for candidates to fill important vacancies. He has been particularly successful in matching school boards with superintendents in many urban districts around the State. I wish I had the opportunity to share personally with my colleagues the wonderful thoughts, remembrances and sentiments that filled the program and ``Memories to Cherish'' booklet. It was evident from these expressions of friendship--personal and professional, respect, gratitude, and love that Ray Milam has truly earned and deserves the recognition he received on Saturday, December 9, 1995. What was mentioned time and time again was the gentleness of a man who has been able to consistently and clearly focus on the problem at hand and develop a solution where all are able to rededicate themselves to working for the benefit of our school children. When we talk of the measure of the man; in the case of Mr. Raymond Milam it is his strong commitment to helping our children prepare for responsible and productive citizenry in the 21st century. Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues will join me as I congratulate Raymond Milam for an outstanding career in the field of education and wish him and his family: his wife Jean Stewart Milam; his children Pamela, Maria and Kenneth; and his grandson Damon all the best in the future.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, it gives me a great deal of pleasure this evening to engage with my colleague from South Carolina and others who may come, a special order dealing with an anniversary tonight of the seating of the United States House of Representatives on December 12 in 1870, 125 years ago, Congressman Rainey, Joseph H. Rainey, was sworn in to the United States House of Representatives. Today being December 12, we celebrate 125 years of that important event. Let me say that on that day, Representative Rainey broke the color line in the House of Representatives, being the first African-American to be seated. He became a duly elected Member of the 41st Congress. A former State senator from South Carolina, he was born of slave parents. His parents were very successful as a barber and his dad purchased his freedom for him at an early age. As a young man Joseph Rainey spent all of his free time educating himself. He followed his father as a barber and he continued to increase his education. At an early age he moved to Philadelphia where me met a young lady named Susan, and they were married and he moved back to South Carolina in 1859. Then with the outbreak of the Civil War, Mr. Rainey, Joseph Rainey, was drafted. He had to at that time work in the military. He worked in an area providing food and serving passengers on a Confederate blockade runner and he worked in the fortification of Charleston, but he did not feel comfortable being a part of the Confederacy as a freeman and what he was able to do with his wife was to escape on a blockade runner and went to Bermuda. In Bermuda he settled in St. Georges, which is a parish in Bermuda and he set up a barber business there and his wife went into dressmaking. Both of them were very, very successful in their business in Bermuda, but as a South Carolinian, Bermuda was fine, business was great, but he yearned to go back to his home State and his hometown. He started to hear about the fact that after the Civil War there had become opportunities for African-Americans in politics and he became very attracted to the area of politics. He decided to look into some of the opportunities and he became an active member of the South Carolina State Republican Party. He became a member of the State senate there, and in July 1870, they nominated him to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives created by the resignation of Representative Benjamin Whittemore. Once in Congress, and there was some time that passed before he was seated, but once in Congress, Representative Rainey was a staunch fighter for the rights of African-Americans. His first speech on the floor of the House was to gain national attention and to support a bill that imposed stiffer penalties against individuals and groups terrorizing African-Americans and white Republicans in former slave States. The speech was delivered on April 1, 1871, in the 42d Congress. The bill that he introduced was designed to enforce the citizenship rights set forth in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution and in the 1866 Civil Rights Act. The bill, called the KKK Act, made it a Federal crime for two or more persons to conspire through force, intimidation, or threat to keep any person from accepting or discharging a public office, from functioning in court without hindrance, or from voting or otherwise participating in political campaigns under the penalty of a $500 to $5,000 fine and 6 months to 6 years in jail. The KKK Act was enacted into law on April 20 in 1871, but the law did not immediately stop the bloodbath in the Southern States. Representative Rainey continued his work on the KKK Act by speaking in favor of the appropriations of Federal funds for the Federal courts that were set up under this act to enforce the law. Representative Rainey was in favor of appropriating funds as necessary to carry on the court's persecution, until every man in the Southern States shall know that the government has a strong arm and that everyone shall be made to obey the law. In the 43d Congress Representative Rainey concentrated on the civil rights measure to afford equal treatment to all in public accommodations, public transportation, hotels, amusement places, and schools. Representative Rainey's theory was that Federal aid for education was not a regional or racial issue but an issue of national importance. The debate 125 years ago is similar to the debate that is going on in the House of Representatives today. This proposal that he discussed way back then was heavily discussed near the end of 1873. The saddest fact about this discussion that he talked about of public accommodations is that it was not until 1963, almost 100 years later, that this public accommodations act was finally passed. Mr. Speaker, in May 1874, when Representative Rainey was a member of the Indian Affairs Committee, he presided over the debate in the House on a proposal to improve conditions on the Indian reservations. Another first in the life of Representative Rainey was that he was the first African-American to ever preside over the House of Representatives. Representative Rainey was defeated in his reelection bid to the 46th Congress after a bitter fight in the House of Representatives with his Democratic opponent from the previous election. Representative Rainey and his family remained in Washington for a few years before moving back to South Carolina, where he died at the early age of 55. In the obituary the Charleston News and Courier, not a friend to Representative Rainey when he served in active public life, termed him, next to Robert Elliot, the most intelligent of South Carolina Reconstruction delegation politicians, and they thought that if he had been less honest, they say he probably would have attained even greater distinction. so I think that says a lot about a man who stuck to his convictions and in his death was finally given the credit that he should have gotten in life. Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure to bring to the attention of my colleagues and the American people some of the great work of the first African-American to serve in the House of Representatives, the Honorable Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina, leader in the fight for rights of all Americans and minorities in this country. At this time, I would like to yield time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina, from the Sixth District of South Carolina, Representative Jim Clyburn.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of my special order today.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. I want to thank the gentleman very much for those remarks. Very instructive. And let me just say, as we conclude, that as the first African-American to serve in the Congress from the great State of New Jersey, we have to take a look at history, too, in the North. As the gentleman knows, the North was the great divide and fought against the Confederacy. But in my State of New Jersey slavery was outlawed in 1804, but the law stated that a female at the age of 21 may become free and a male at the age of 25. Well, at the time of the Emancipation Proclamation in New Jersey, there were still slaves and there were still slaves in New Jersey until after the Civil War because there were children. It went on to say that a child born of a slave, of course, was a slave. So, therefore, before a person would get to be 21 or 25, their child was a slave; and, therefore, they continued to have slavery in New Jersey, although the underground railroad came through New Jersey. As a matter of fact, Harriet Tubman retired in New Jersey and took the little pension that she got to help other people who were more impoverished, even though she was practically penniless. In our State of New Jersey the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments were defeated. The 13th amendment was defeated. The 14th amendment was passed, but then it was overturned by the legislature that just ruled out the entire legislature. The party that passed it was the Republican Party. The Democrats came in and won the election by virtue of the fact that New Jersey did not want to have that ratified. And the 15th amendment also failed to be passed. So we have a history. In 1860, New Jersey, Lincoln lost New Jersey. And again in 1864, because New Jersey opposed his policies of the freeing of slaves. And so in 1868 there was a great meeting in Trenton, NJ, where African-Americans came together to talk about the fact that they were still disen-franchised. It was difficult to vote. There was still slavery. As a matter of fact, New Jersey supplied the South with a great deal of their products, of leather and copper and brass, because New Jersey was a State that invented some ways of tanning leather and shining brass, and so New Jersey was a key State for enterprise in the South. So I think it is interesting, as the gentleman indicated, that we remember what happened in history. Of course, it was great that in 1868 it was the black vote that created the victory for the President in that election. As a matter of fact, in 1868 the Presidential nominee lost the majority of the white vote, and it was the 70-percent turnout of blacks in the South that could vote for the first time because of the Emancipation Proclamation in the 1868 election that caused a victory. So I think that as we conclude here, it has been very instructive. I certainly appreciate the comments from both of the gentlemen; that 232 if a number that should continually be talked about, the years of slavery. We need to have another time. And just talking about wealth, it was the Homestead Act, where people were able to get property, but African-Americans were restricted from participating in the Homestead Act. There were land grants where people were granted land. If they lived on land in the 1860's for over 5 years, the land was given to them. I have talked to people who today still own property that their great, great, great grandparents got in the Homestead Act. All an individual did, they got on a horse, or they ran on foot and simply put a stake on the land, and whoever got there first owned the land. African-American blacks could not participate in that. It was not that we could not run, it was just that they would not let us run. So I would like to, once again, thank my colleagues. I think that probably our time has been consumed, and I certainly appreciate the Speaker's indulgence. Let me say that, once again, we appreciate your comments and we should do this again because there is so much to talk about. In the gentleman's State of New York, there were riots because people in New York did not want to fight in the Civil War. They did not want to possibly be injured or maimed fighting the South.

Mr. PAYNE of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very much. I certainly appreciate those remarks from the gentleman from South Carolina, bringing out history. We really appreciate the work the gentleman has done on affirmative action and some of the light that the gentleman has brought into that discussion. I certainly know the gentleman will continue the great work that he has been doing. I just might also mention, since the gentleman used Illinois so much, that there is an interesting thing happening in Illinois as we speak. The polls have not closed nor has the tally been counted, but there is a feeling that Mr. Jesse Lewis Jackson, Jr., may win the election in the special election in Illinois, the State the gentleman has been talking about. Well, it is very interesting that Mr. Jesse Lewis Jackson, Jr., happened to be born in South Carolina, and he was born about 30 years ago. Thirty years ago was the march in Selma to talk about voting rights and attempting to get the rights of all people to vote. His father, Jesse Lewis Jackson, Sr., Dr. Martin Luther King, Wyatt T. Walker, many of us and myself, marched in that march to try to get voting rights. So I just mention that, that it would be very interesting if the first person to be seated was a person born in South Carolina, 125 years ago to this date; that if Mr. Jesse Jackson, Jr., is elected, native of South Carolina, to be the last person to be seated tomorrow, it would be very interesting to tie in in just an interesting way, and maybe God meant it to be this way; if he is fortunate to win, for the 125 years to be encompassed with the beginning and the end, sort of the alpha and omega here tonight on December 12. I thank the gentleman very much. At this time I would like to yield to the gentleman from the great State of New York [Mr. Owens], from the 12th Congressional District of New York.