[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 189 (Wednesday, November 29, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2253]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    A TRIBUTE TO CLEVELAND ROBINSON

                                 ______


                         HON. CHARLES B. RANGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 29, 1995

  Mr. RANGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Cleveland 
Robinson, leader of District 65 of the United Auto Workers Union in New 
York City who recently passed away. Cleveland Robinson committed his 
life to economic justice and racial equality. As a union 
representative, he fought to improve the lives of the mostly black and 
Hispanic New York City autoworkers whom he represented. Committed to 
racial justice in the United States and internationally, Mr. Robinson 
also served as the administrator chairman of the 1963 March on 
Washington and helped to bring American Labor into the fight against 
South African apartheid. Mr. Robinson's commitment to justice was 
deeply held and his contribution to social justice was great.
  In memory of Cleveland Robinson and in tribute to the ideals for 
which he fought, I would like to enter into the Congressional Record 
the following excerpts from a statement by Bernice Powell Jackson from 
the Civil Rights Journal.

       No one could attend Cleveland Robinson's funeral, held at 
     the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, and 
     not be awed. There was the grandeur of the church, the power 
     of the African drummers leading the procession and there was 
     the procession itself. In it were Jesse Jackson, Andrew 
     Young, Corertta Scott King, David Dinkins and Harry 
     Belafonte. In it were labor leader like Bill Lucy and Owen 
     Bieber and union members whom Cleveland Robinson had spent a 
     life-time representing. In it were church leaders and civic 
     leaders and Robinson family members. In it were the Consul 
     General and Ambassador from Robinson's native Jamaica. It was 
     an awesome moment.
       Cleveland Robinson's name is not a household word. Yet, he 
     was a man whose unswerving commitment to the working people 
     of our country led to the improvement of the lives of the 
     30,000 mostly black and Hispanic workers in small shops and 
     department stores whom he represented. He was a man whose 
     dedication to fighting injustice, especially racial 
     injustice, led him to be a loyal and fearless supporter of 
     the civil rights movements in the United States and the 
     anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
       It was Cleveland Robinson who served as the administrator 
     chairman of the 1963 March on Washington. In her remarks at 
     his funeral, Mrs. King remembered his long-time support for 
     Dr. King and the civil rights movement, dating back to the 
     1956 Montgomery bus boycott. Indeed, many in the movement 
     knew that you always could count on Cleveland Robinson for 
     moral and financial support and ``troops'' when you 
     confronted racism.
       It was the same in the anti-apartheid movement, where 
     Cleveland Robinson played a key role in getting labor support 
     of anti-apartheid activities. He helped to organize the 1986 
     anti-apartheid rally in New York City where nearly a million 
     marched and let our national leaders know they no longer had 
     public support for U.S. backing of a racist regime. For that 
     reason President Nelson Mandela sent a personal message to 
     Robinson's funeral.

  Mr. Robinson's contribution to America was powerful, and I would like 
to take this moment to honor his memory and to mourn our loss.

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