[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 83 (Monday, June 27, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: June 27, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       MARIAN OLDHAM POST OFFICE

  Miss COLLINS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill H.R. 4995, to designate the building located at 4021 
Laclede in St. Louis, MO, for the period of time during which it houses 
operations of the U.S. Postal Service, as the ``Marian Oldham Post 
Office.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 4595

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The building located at 4021 Laclede in St. Louis, 
     Missouri, shall, for the period of time during which it 
     houses operations of the United States Postal Service, be 
     known and designated as the ``Marian Oldham Post Office''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
Michigan [Miss Collins] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Wisconsin [Mr. Petri] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Michigan [Miss Collins].
  Miss COLLINS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I support the passage of H.R. 4595, which will designate 
the U.S. Post Office building located at 4021 Laclede in St. Louis, MO, 
as the ``Marian Oldham Post Office''.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Oldham was a pioneer in the civil rights movement. 
In 1957, she became a founding member of the St. Louis Committee of 
Racial Equality [CORE]. Her determination for equal rights for all 
eventually lead her to become the first black woman appointed to the 
University of Missouri Board of Curators.
  I am pleased to join Congressman Clay and other citizens of St. 
Louis, in their desire to name the postal facility located at 4021 
Laclede in St. Louis, MO, as the ``Marian Oldham Post Office''. I 
support the passage of H.R. 4595, and I urge my colleagues to support 
the measure.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to take this opportunity to rise in support of 
H.R. 4595, legislation reported from our Committee on Post Office and 
Civil Service introduced by our good full committee chairman, Mr. Clay, 
to designate a postal facility in St. Louis, MO as the ``Marian Oldham 
Post Office.''
  Mr. Speaker, the late Ms. Oldham as we have heard was a true pioneer 
of the civil rights movement, beginning her lifetime of work toward 
equality in the 1940's in St. Louis. While her physical efforts toward 
the goal of equality of the races ended with her passing last year, she 
had the foresight to take the fight into the next century by 
establishing a scholarship program for African-American students at the 
University of Missouri at St. Louis.
  It can only be hoped that the students benefiting from that fund 
through their education will continue to strive toward the goals she 
set over 50 years ago, and I would hope that with the support of my 
colleagues we will be able to honor her memory and her life by 
designating this postal facility as the Marian Oldham Post Office.
  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, Marian Oldham was a pioneer in the civil 
rights movement. Her activism began in the 1940's when she participated 
in sit-ins at the Stix, Baer & Fuller store in downtown St. Louis. In 
1957 she became a founding member of the St. Louis Committee of Racial 
Equality [CORE]. In 1963 she was arrested and sent to jail for blocking 
the doors of Jefferson Bank & Trust. That bank had just fired the only 
two black clerks ever hired by a bank in St. Louis. She spent 11 days 
in jail, and on her release, she held prayer vigils outside the jail 
for those protesters who had yet to be released.
  Her determination for equal rights for all eventually lead her to 
become the first black woman appointed to the University of Missouri 
Board of Curators, directors of the system that previously had rejected 
her application for admission because she was black. She founded a 
scholarship program for black students at the University of Missouri-
St. Louis.
  She brought that same determination to her students. The students at 
Washington Elementary School learned more than language, math, and 
history. Marian Oldham taught them how to live--how to enjoy life, and 
how to improve life. Her life touched the lives of many and made a 
difference in each. I was honored to be one whose life she touched and 
am pleased to honor her by naming the Post Office on Laclede in her 
memory.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4595.
  Mr. PETRI. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Miss COLLINS of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for 
time, and I yield back will the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from Michigan [Miss Collins] that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4595.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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