[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 108 (Monday, August 8, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             MATTHEW J. PERRY, JR. UNITED STATES COURTHOUSE

  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 4553) to designate the U.S. courthouse to be constructed at 
907 Richland Street in Columbia, SC, as the ``Matthew J. Perry, Jr. 
United States Courthouse.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R 4543

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

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The United States courthouse to be constructed at 907 
     Richland Street in Columbia, South Carolina, shall be known 
     and designated as the ``Matthew J. Perry, Jr. United States 
     Courthouse.''

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the United States 
     courthouse referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a 
     reference to the ``Matthew J. Perry, Jr. United States 
     Courthouse.''

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Ohio [Mr. Traficant] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania [Mr. Clinger] will be recognized for 20 
minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant].
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the distinguished gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Clyburn], a hard-
working member of the subcommittee.
  (Mr. CLYBURN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding time to 
me.
  Mr. Speaker, when I was a teenager growing up in Sumter, SC, my 
mother closed her beauty shop one day and took me with her to the 
Sumter County Court House because, as she said, she wanted me to see 
what it was I could be when I grew up. What I saw there that day was 
Matthew J. Perry, Jr., representing the local chapter of the NAACP, 
which had been sued by some local citizens in order to stop its efforts 
to integrate the society in that part of the State.
  Mr. Speaker, the next time I saw Judge Perry was a few years later, 
when I was a student at South Carolina State College. There, as one of 
the organizers and leaders of the sit-in movement, it fell to my lot to 
be represented by Judge Perry when around 288 students were arrested, 
locked up on a cold day in the outside, and Judge Perry selected me to 
be his chief witness.
  Mr. Speaker, Judge Perry, on the day I met him in Sumter, lost that 
case, but he won the hearts, minds, and souls of hundreds of people. On 
this day in Orangeburg, with my help, I would like to think, Judge 
Perry won. He went on to win hundreds of cases on behalf of over 7,000 
college students throughout South Carolina.

  Mr. Speaker, last week, on August 3, the date that my first 
grandchild, Walter A. Clyburn Reed, was born, Judge Perry celebrated 
his 73d birthday. I can think of no better way for this Nation to pay 
respect and honor to a man who has done so much to help us live out the 
constitutional guarantees of our Nation than to name this new court 
house to be built in Columbia, SC, the Matthew J. Perry Court House.
  Mr. Speaker, there has been some confusion about this new court 
house. There have been some references made to it as an annex of the 
current J. Strom Thurmond Federal Building and Court House. Mr. 
Speaker, I checked with the General Services Administration and I have 
been told that this is a separate entity. It is going to be built a 
block away from the current Federal building and court house, down the 
street and across from the current building.
  Mr. Speaker, I have checked with Senators Thurmond and Hollings, and 
both of them are in support of this legislation. In fact, it was 
Senator Thurmond who recommended Matthew Perry to sit on the Military 
Court of Appeals, and it was Senator Hollings who recommended that 
Matthew Perry should become a Federal judge. Both of them join me in 
this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud, honored, and humbled to come before this 
body and ask my colleagues to pay respect to an outstanding South 
Carolinian, a great American, and one who is deserving of this great 
honor.
  I introduced H.R. 4543 to pay honor and tribute to a gentleman who is 
held in the highest regard and, yes, even reverence, in my home State 
of South Carolina.
  Matthew Perry was born on August 3, 1921, in Columbia, SC, and 
attended South Carolina State College from 1939 to 1942. His education 
was interrupted from 1943 to 1946 when he served on active duty in the 
U.S. Army during World War II.
  After the war, Mr. Perry completed his bachelor's degree and law 
degree from South Carolina State, and he was admitted to the South 
Carolina bar in 1951.
  During the next 24 years, Mr. Perry distinguished himself in the 
legal community by joining in the successful defense of more than 7,000 
black students who were arrested because of their participation in 
protest activities against segregation in the South.
  Mr. Speaker, it was my great honor to have been involved with Mr. 
Perry as a litigant in the cases of Fields versus South Carolina and 
Edwards versus South Carolina. In fact, I was Mr. Perry's only witness 
in the Fields case, and it was during that litigation that a 
relationship fostered between Mr. Perry and me which continues to 
blossom even until this day.
  Among the other cases Mr. Perry represented were Gantt versus Clemson 
College, resulting in the admission of Harvey Gantt to Clemson College, 
which had never admitted a black student prior to this case, and 
Montieth versus University of South Carolina, which resulted in the 
admission of the first black student to the University of South 
Carolina since reconstruction.
  In 1975, Matthew Perry was nominated by President Ford and 
unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate, to serve as a judge on the 
U.S. Court of Military Appeals here in Washington.
  Matthew Perry's ability, courage, and tenacity were further 
recognized on June 28, 1979, when President Carter nominated him for 
appointment to the U.S. district court for South Carolina. Again, Judge 
Perry's confirmation by the Senate was unanimous. Upon his 
confirmation, Judge Perry became the first African-American to sit on 
the Federal bench in South Carolina.
  On the bench, Judge Perry is known far and wide for his superior 
judicial temperament and excellent demeanor. Lawyers who have appeared 
before him have commented, ``His legal ability is outstanding. He's a 
progressive judge.'' ``He's eminently fair.'' ``He hears all parties 
thoroughly and completely.'' ``He's the most courteous judge probably 
in America.''
  Mr. Speaker, Matthew Perry was involved in virtually all the 
litigation which broke racial barriers in South Carolina during this 
century. I know of no living South Carolinian whom I hold in higher 
esteem, and it is for his outstanding and exemplary service to his 
State and Nation that I introduced this legislation to name the new 
Federal courthouse which will be built in Columbia, SC, the Matthew J. 
Perry, Jr. United States Courthouse.
  Let me also note, there has been some confusion about whether the new 
courthouse will be a separate entity or an extension of the Strom 
Thurmond Federal Building and Courthouse. I have checked that point 
with the General Service Administration. Officials in that agency 
advise me that although initially referred to as an annex, the new 
courthouse is a separate building, not an addition to the Strom 
Thurmond Building. The new courthouse is across the street from the 
existing courthouse, and is on a wholly separate parcel of land. By 
naming the new building the Matthew Perry Courthouse, it does not 
affect the Strom Thurmond Federal Building and Courthouse Complex in 
any way.

  I have also checked with Senators Thurmond and Hollings, and in view 
of this clarification, they endorse this legislation. It was Senator 
Thurmond who first promoted Judge Perry for a Federal judgeship in the 
U.S. Court of Military Appeals. President Ford appointed Judge Perry 
upon Senator Thurmond's sponsorship. Senator Hollings recommended Judge 
Perry to President Carter to be a Federal district judge. Judge Perry 
was appointed to the district court bench upon Senator Hollings' 
sponsorship. I commend both Senator Thurmond and Senator Hollings and 
thank them for their support of this legislation.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to 
the gentleman from California [Mr. Mineta], the distinguished chairman 
of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation.
  (Mr. MINETA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. MINETA. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislation 
and want to pay special recognition to the gentleman from South 
Carolina, the sponsor of the bill, Congressman Clyburn, for his 
leadership and perseverance on this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, Matthew J. Perry, Jr. was born in 1921 in Columbia, SC. 
He began attending South Carolina State College, but interrupted his 
education to serve from 1942 to 1946 in the U.S. Army during World War 
II. After the war, Perry completed his education, graduating from South 
Carolina State College in 1948, and then from law school at South 
Carolina State in 1951.
  For the next 24 years, Perry engaged in the private practice of law, 
courageously defending many African-American students arrested during 
numerous civil rights demonstrations of the 1960's. Also in the civil 
rights cause, Perry served on the board of directors of the NAACP and 
as one of the organization's several vice presidents.
  In 1975, Perry was appointed judge on the U.S. Court of Military 
Appeals in Washington DC. Judge Perry's judicial skill was further 
recognized in 1979 when he was appointed to the U.S. district court for 
South Carolina. Upon unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate, Judge 
Perry became the first African-American to serve on the Federal bench 
in South Carolina. As a result of his great courage and wisdom, it is a 
fitting and deserving honor to have the U.S. courthouse to be 
constructed at 907 Richland Street in Columbia, SC, designated as the 
Matthew J. Perry, Jr. United States Courthouse.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the bill.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. CLINGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4543, a bill to designate the 
Federal building to be constructed in Columbia, SC as the ``Matthew J. 
Perry, Jr. United States Courthouse.''
  Judge Matthew Perry is a native of Columbia, having been born there 
on August 3, 1921. He attended South Carolina State, where he received 
a law degree in 1951. For the next 24 years Matthew Perry defended over 
7,000 African-American students arrested during civil rights 
demonstrations.
  In 1975, he was nominated to serve as judge on the U.S. Court of 
Military Appeals in Washington, DC, and in 1979, President Carter 
appointed him to the U.S. district court for South Carolina, becoming 
the first African-American to sit on the Federal bench in South 
Carolina. I urge enactment of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. TRAFICANT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  The distinguished gentleman from South Carolina is very modest. The 
gentleman from South Carolina [Mr. Clyburn] is the sponsor of this 
legislation and is, in fact, the major moving force of this 
legislation. I want to commend him for his beautiful statement and for 
what he had seen firsthand as a young boy, with his mother taking him 
to see this tremendous individual.
  Mr. Speaker, Judge Matthew J. Perry, Jr., of South Carolina, has had 
a remarkable, distinguished judicial career. He was and is a preeminent 
leader in the struggle for civil rights. He has been deeply involved in 
civil rights cases which have become landmark cases. In 1979, Matthew 
Perry was appointed to serve as a judge on the U.S. District Court for 
South Carolina. Judge Perry's many contributions to ending segregation 
in South Carolina reflect his great personal courage and wisdom. Naming 
this courthouse after him is most appropriate.
  The bill has my enthusiastic support, and the bipartisan support of 
the committee. We are all deeply honored to be associated with Mr. 
Clyburn's bill. I urge adoption of H.R. 4543.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Montgomery). The question is on the 
motion offered by the gentleman from Ohio [Mr. Traficant] that the 
House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4543.
  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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