[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 742 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 742

       Honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 16, 2018

   Mr. McEachin (for himself, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Beyer, Mr. 
   Goodlatte, Mr. Garrett, Mr. Griffith, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Brat, Mrs. 
 Comstock, and Mr. Connolly) submitted the following resolution; which 
    was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
       Honoring the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker.

Whereas Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker was a champion of equality, justice, and 
        freedom in the civil rights movement and throughout his life;
Whereas, in his book, ``Why We Can't Wait,'' Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 
        described Walker as having ``brought his energetic and untiring spirit 
        to our meetings, whose members already knew and admired his dedicated 
        work as a behind-the-scenes organizer of the campaign'';
Whereas Dr. Walker, the grandson of a former slave, was born in Brockton, 
        Massachusetts;
Whereas Dr. Walker received his bachelor's degree in chemistry and physics and a 
        Master of Divinity degree from Virginia Union University;
Whereas, after graduating, Dr. Walker served as pastor at the Gillfield Baptist 
        Church in Petersburg, Virginia;
Whereas Dr. Walker was instrumental in the civil rights movement in Virginia, 
        serving as head of the Petersburg chapter of the National Association 
        for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), State director of the 
        Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and the founder of the Petersburg 
        Improvement Association;
Whereas, in 1959, Dr. Walker led a ``Pilgrimage of Prayer'' in Richmond, 
        Virginia, against school segregation, which resulted in the passage of a 
        resolution urging the appointment of a biracial commission to seek a 
        solution to Virginia's segregated school system;
Whereas, in 1960, Dr. Walker and other African Americans protesting segregation 
        were arrested and jailed after entering through the ``whites only'' 
        entrance of the Petersburg Public Library to check out a biography of 
        Robert E. Lee;
Whereas Dr. Walker's bravery and leadership in the local struggle for equality 
        and justice garnered the attention and respect of Dr. King;
Whereas Dr. Walker served as Dr. King's chief of staff in the early 1960s, 
        organizing landmark demonstrations throughout Alabama and the South;
Whereas Dr. Walker served as the executive director of the Southern Christian 
        Leadership Conference (SCLC) from 1960 to 1964, organizing numerous 
        protests and demonstrations against segregation in Alabama which came to 
        be known as Project C;
Whereas, in May 1961, Dr. Walker was one of 11 leaders arrested in Montgomery, 
        Alabama, during the Freedom Riders protest;
Whereas, in April 1963, Dr. Walker was instrumental in assembling and 
        distributing Dr. King's famous ``Letter from a Birmingham Jail'', one of 
        the most important and influential documents of the civil rights 
        movement;
Whereas, in August 1963, Dr. Walker was a key organizer of the March on 
        Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the occasion of Dr. King's ``I Have a 
        Dream'' speech;
Whereas Dr. Walker's leadership of SCLC transformed it from a local grassroots 
        organization into a national force in the civil rights movement;
Whereas, following his time with SCLC, Dr. Walker served as senior pastor at 
        Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem, New York City, for more than 
        30 years;
Whereas Dr. Walker advocated for equality and justice in New York City, chairing 
        the Consortium for Central Harlem Development and fighting for 
        affordable housing, better schools, programs that reduce homelessness 
        and hunger, and progress on other important issues;
Whereas Dr. Walker served as advisor on urban affairs for then-New York Governor 
        Nelson A. Rockefeller;
Whereas Dr. Walker fought for justice and freedom abroad, forming the 
        International Freedom Mobilization, a movement to oppose apartheid and 
        racial injustice in South Africa;
Whereas Dr. Walker helped supervise South Africa's first fully representative 
        elections in 1994, which resulted in Nelson Mandela becoming the 
        country's first post-apartheid president;
Whereas Dr. Walker was the National Action Network's first board chairman;
Whereas Dr. Walker, a leader of marches, boycotts, and sit-ins, received 
        countless awards and accolades in recognition of his life's work 
        standing up to injustice and inequality, including induction into the 
        International Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the Martin Luther King, Jr., 
        National Historic Site, being named one of the ``Greatest Black 
        Preachers'' by Ebony magazine, and receiving the ``Keepers of the 
        Flame'' Award at the African American Church Inaugural Ball during the 
        inauguration events for President Barack Obama;
Whereas Dr. Walker's courage, conviction, and strength of character had an 
        indelible impact on the Commonwealth of Virginia and the country;
Whereas Dr. Walker passed away on January 23, 2018, in Chester, Virginia; and
Whereas Dr. Walker is survived by his wife, four children, one sister, and two 
        grandchildren: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) honors the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee 
        Walker, a civil rights icon, humanitarian, theologian, pastor, 
        and cultural historian; and
            (2) expresses its deepest sympathies to his family on his 
        passing.
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