[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 69 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 69

     Honoring the life and accomplishments of the late Ossie Davis.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 8, 2005

Mr. Bishop of Georgia (for himself, Mr. Kingston, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, 
Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. Westmoreland, Ms. Kilpatrick of Michigan, Mr. 
  Cummings, Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Capuano, Mrs. Maloney, Mr. Payne, Mr. 
George Miller of California, Mr. McDermott, Ms. Lee, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. 
 Watson, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Udall of Colorado, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, 
Mr. Conyers, Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas, Mr. Watt, Mr. Towns, Ms. Waters, 
Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Mr. Waxman, Ms. Millender-McDonald, Mr. Bishop 
   of New York, Mr. Menendez, Ms. Norton, Mr. Ford, Mr. Rangel, Mr. 
 Abercrombie, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Ms. Corrine Brown of Florida, 
  Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Engel, Mr. Ross, Mr. Marshall, Ms. Bordallo, Mr. 
 Fattah, Mr. Owens, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Weiner, Mr. Honda, Mrs. 
Lowey, Mr. Serrano, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Mr. Lantos, Ms. 
    Woolsey, Mr. Moore of Kansas, Mr. Barrow, Mr. Ryan of Ohio, Ms. 
 Schakowsky, Ms. Carson, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Meek of Florida, Mr. Rush, 
  Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Wynn, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Meeks of New York, Mr. 
   Davis of Illinois, Mr. Clay, Mr. Al Green of Texas, Mr. Davis of 
Alabama, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Clyburn, 
and Mr. Hastings of Florida) submitted the following resolution; which 
           was referred to the Committee on Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
     Honoring the life and accomplishments of the late Ossie Davis.

Whereas the late Ossie Davis, actor and civil rights leader, was born Raiford 
        Chatman Davis, the oldest of five children born to Laura Cooper and 
        Kince Davis, on December 18, 1917, in Cogdell, Georgia;
Whereas Ossie Davis graduated in the top 5 percent of his high school class, 
        received a National Youth Administration scholarship, and walked from 
        Waycross, Georgia, to Washington, D.C., to attend Howard University, 
        where he studied with Alain Leroy Locke, the first black Rhodes Scholar;
Whereas Ossie Davis began his career as a writer and an actor with the Rose 
        McClendon Players in Harlem in 1939;
Whereas during World War II Ossie Davis served in the Army in an African-
        American medical unit, including service as an Army surgical technician 
        in Libya, where he worked on stabilizing some of the 700,000 soldiers 
        wounded in that war for transport back to State-side hospitals;
Whereas Ossie Davis made his Broadway debut in 1946 in ``Jeb'', where he met his 
        wife, actress Ruby Dee, who he married in 1948;
Whereas Ossie Davis went on to perform in many Broadway productions, including 
        ``Anna Lucasta'', ``The Wisteria Trees'', ``Green Pastures'', 
        ``Jamaica'', ``Ballad for Bimshire'', ``A Raisin in the Sun'', ``The 
        Zulu and the Zayda'', and ``I'm Not Rappaport''.
Whereas in 1961, he wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed ``Purlie 
        Victorious'';
Whereas Ossie Davis' first movie role was in ``No Way Out'' in 1950, followed by 
        appearances in ``The Cardinal'' in 1963, ``The Hill'' in 1965, and ``The 
        Scalphunters'' in 1968;
Whereas Ossie Davis made his feature debut as a writer/director with ``Cotton 
        Comes to Harlem'' in 1970 and later directed ``Kongi's Harvest'' in 
        1971, ``Black Girl'' in 1972, ``Gordon's War'' in 1973, and ``Countdown 
        at Kusini'' in 1976;
Whereas Ossie Davis held numerous leading and supporting television and motion 
        picture roles throughout his distinguished career;
Whereas Ossie Davis was a leading activist in the civil rights era of the 1960s 
        when he joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the crusade for jobs and 
        freedom and to help raise money for the Freedom Riders;
Whereas Ossie and Ruby Dee Davis, having protested the injustices of the 
        McCarthy Era House Committee on Un-American Activities in the 1950s, 
        were blacklisted from Hollywood;
Whereas Ossie and Ruby Dee Davis raised their voices for numerous causes, 
        including support for the United Negro College Fund, vocal opposition to 
        the Vietnam War, and participation in the August 28, 1963, March on 
        Washington, D.C., at which the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered 
        his ``I Have a Dream'' speech.
Whereas Ossie Davis served for 12 years as master of ceremonies at the annual 
        National Memorial Day Concerts on the grounds of the United States 
        Capitol and was an advocate on behalf of the Nation's veterans;
Whereas Ossie Davis eulogized both Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X at 
        their funerals;
Whereas Ossie Davis was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 1994 and 
        received innumerable honors and citations throughout his life, including 
        the Hall of Fame Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement in 1989, the 
        United States National Medal for the Arts in 1995, the New York Urban 
        League Frederick Douglass Award, NAACP Image Award, and the Screen 
        Actor's Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001;
Whereas Ossie Davis and his wife, Ruby Dee, are the parents of three children 
        and have recently published their joint autobiography, ``With Ossie and 
        Ruby: In This Life Together''; and
Whereas Davis enjoyed a long and luminous career in entertainment along with his 
        wife before he died in Miami, Florida, at the age of 87 on Friday, 
        February 4, 2005, where he was making a movie called ``Retirement'': 
        Now, therefore be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the extraordinary contributions to the 
        Nation of the late Ossie Davis for his service to the Nation in 
        the military, as a civil rights leader, and as an actor;
            (2) honors him as a great American and pioneer in the 
        annals of American history; and
            (3) expresses its deepest condolences upon his death to his 
        wife Ruby Dee Davis, his other family members, and his friends.
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