IV 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. CON. RES. 326 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 29, 2010 Mr. Tiahrt (for himself and Ms. Lee of California) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Honoring the life of Dr. Ronald W. Walters and commending his life as an example to future generations of the people of the United States.

Whereas Dr. Walters was born on July 20, 1938, in Wichita, Kansas, the eldest of 7 children born to Gilmar and Maxine Fray Walters; Whereas Dr. Walters received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Government from Fisk University in 1963, a Master of Arts in African Studies from American University in 1966, and a Doctor of Philosophy in International Studies from American University in 1971; Whereas Dr. Walters was a lifelong scholar and activist on civil rights issues; Whereas in July 1958, while a student at Fisk University, Dr. Walters organized with his cousin, Carol Parks, a 3-week, silent sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store in Wichita, Kansas, to protest the segregated lunch counters at the Dockum Drug Store; Whereas during the sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store, Dr. Walters, Carol Parks, and the other sit-in participants were taunted for their activism, which inspired others to join the protest and contributed to the eventual success of the sit-in; Whereas as a result of the sit-in, the owner of the Dockum Drug Store eliminated the segregated lunch counters; Whereas the success of the sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store led Dr. Walters and his fellow protestors to organize sit-ins at other segregated restaurants in Wichita, Kansas, which inspired others to organize sit-ins throughout the United States as acts of civil disobedience during the civil rights movement; Whereas Dr. Walters was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Syracuse University from 1968 through 1969; Whereas Dr. Walters served as chair of the Afro-American Studies department at Brandeis University from 1969 through 1971; Whereas Dr. Walters left Brandeis University for Howard University in 1971, where Dr. Walters taught for 25 years, serving as chair of the Political Science department from 1990 to 1996; Whereas throughout his time at Howard University, Dr. Walters continued to work as an activist for civil rights policies; Whereas Dr. Walters served as a top advisor for Congressman Charles Diggs, the first Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and helped Congressman Diggs conceptualize the strategic vision of the Congressional Black Caucus; Whereas Dr. Walters served on the staff of Congressman William Gray, III, in 1979; Whereas Dr. Walters served as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the 1984 Presidential campaign of the Reverend Jesse Jackson and as the Conventions Operations Consultant for the 1988 Presidential campaign of the Reverend Jesse Jackson; Whereas Dr. Walters authored many political articles and books, and over the course of his academic career, received the Ralph Bunche Award for Black Presidential Politics in America from the American Political Science Association and the Best Book Award for Black Presidential Politics in America from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists; Whereas Dr. Walters was a Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland College Park from 1996 through 2009; Whereas throughout his life, Dr. Walters was an active member of many national organizations, including the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, the Omicron Delta Kappa fraternity, and the Pi Sigma Alpha fraternity; Whereas Dr. Walters founded 2 national organizations, the National Congress of Black Faculty and the National Black Independent Political Party; Whereas Dr. Walters was an active member of many professional associations, including the African Heritage Studies Association, the American Political Science Association, the Association of Black Sociologists, the National Black Leadership Roundtable, the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, the Ralph Bunche Institute, the Social Science Research Council, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; Whereas Dr. Walters participated in several important research studies including the National Black Election Study carried out from 1984 through 1985 with the Institute for Social and Political Research at the University of Michigan, the 1971 through 1973 Advisory Board Research Program, and the 1974 through 1979 Public Policy Fellows Program carried out at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC; Whereas Dr. Walters received many university faculty honors, including the 1982 Distinguished Faculty Award from Howard University, the 1992 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Fisk University, the 2000 School of International Service Alumnus of the Year award from American University, and the Distinguished Faculty Award from the University of Maryland College Park; Whereas Dr. Walters received many academic awards, including the 1963 Reader’s Digest Writing Award, the 1984 Distinguished Scholar/Activist Award from The Black Scholar Magazine, the 1985 Ida Wells Barnett Award from the Association of Black School Educators, and an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Fisk University in 2010; Whereas Dr. Walters received several national service awards, including the 1st annual Distinguished Service Award from the Wichita Black Historical Society in 1987 and the 2002 Award for Distinguished Service to the Devolution Initiative from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Whereas the sit-in at the Dockum Drug Store occurred almost 2 years before the more well-publicized lunchroom sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, but the sit-in had received little national attention until Dr. Walters was honored in 2006 with a medal from the NAACP for organizing the historical Wichita, Kansas, sit-in; Whereas Dr. Walters died on September 10, 2010, at the age of 72 in Silver Spring, Maryland; Whereas Dr. Walters was honored with a memorial service on September 16, 2010, at Howard University, as Dr. Walters had intended to return to Howard University as a senior researcher and lecturer; Whereas Dr. Walters was also honored with a memorial service on September 20, 2010, at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church; and Whereas the eulogy for Dr. Walters was delivered by the Reverend Jesse Jackson at both memorial services: Now, therefore, be it

That Congress— (1)expresses the condolences of Congress to family of Dr. Ronald W. Walters, especially his wife, Mrs. Patricia Walters, his 3 brothers, Duane, Terrance, and Kevin, and his 2 sisters, Marcia and Sharon; and (2)honors the life of Dr. Ronald W. Walters, an ambassador for freedom and democracy, whose lifelong dedication and service stand as an outstanding example of leadership for all mankind.