[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 13 (Wednesday, January 31, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H1052]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 FAREWELL TO THE HONORABLE KWEISI MFUME

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida [Mrs. Meek] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield?
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, I would like to direct my remarks to the 
gentleman from Maryland [Mr. Hoyer], who spoke earlier, and I recognize 
the duties of the Chair, having served there for many years.
  Mr. Speaker, let me thank the gentleman from Maryland, on the 
gentlewoman's time, for his kind remarks, for his friendship over the 
years, for leading the delegation, from all of us who served the State 
of Maryland, and for extending the first hand toward me shortly after 
my election in 1986. Both he and former Congressman Tony Coelho came to 
Baltimore at that particular time to find out what it was they could do 
for me as an incoming Member. It has been that kind of relationship 
over the years, Steny, and I really appreciate your kind remarks.
  Mrs. MEEK of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I say to the gentleman from 
Maryland [Mr. Mfume], it is a distinct pleasure to come to the well and 
tell you how much we are going to miss you, because you have shown the 
kind of leadership that is seldom seen, not only in the Congress, but 
throughout this country. The leadership you have demonstrated was one 
that was fed by character, one that was fed by dignity, one that was 
fed by knowledge, one that was fed by your strong desire to bring 
people together and not to separate them, regardless of their views.
  Your name stands with the son of kings, and that you are, you are a 
son of kings. You are a conqueror. You have shown your lineage by your 
leadership and your example, which you have shown to all of us. You did 
not lead by talking. You could not say anything about a sermon, because 
I think from all of your work, you have shown that you would rather be 
a sermon than to preach one any day.
  You have been the hope of all America, but most specifically, you 
have been the hope of black America. You have been a hero to us, and 
you still are. I am greatly saddened, at least I was, when you decided 
to retire and go to the NAACP, because I knew you had more and more to 
give to us, but God saw it better to send you someplace where you would 
be needed most. So I was saddened, but I was also encouraged, because 
they saw the same thing that we saw: The ability to lead, the ability 
to pull people together, the ability to start initiatives that work.
  You were president of the Black Caucus for the first 2 years I was 
here. I say to you, if it were not for your leadership, we never could 
have accomplished the things that we accomplished. You even took people 
in the Caucus who were not directly associated with the idea of the 
kind of movement that you were trying to make, but you were such a 
person as to allow everyone a chance and to think of their 
opportunities.
  You are a man of class. You are a cut above, Mfume, quite a bit a cut 
above, because we will never find a father, a leader, a peacemaker, 
above you in this Congress. I like the way you work with everybody, 
white, black, regardless of color or creed. You did not play the race 
card at any time. What you did was to play the people card, and you 
made that card work for us in the Congressional Black Caucus.
  Mr. Speaker, I think in the end, Mfume, even though I am saddened by 
your leaving, that your particular dictum may be and your shibboleth 
could be: Service is the price you have paid for the space which God 
has let you occupy.
  Mr. MFUME. Mr. Speaker, if the gentlewoman will continue to yield, I 
could not, obviously, not respond to your heartfelt comments, Carrie, 
and the friendship that we have developed over the last several years 
working on a number of issues, both here in Washington and down in your 
district in Florida and elsewhere. It is those kinds of words at this 
kind of moment that really makes the last 10 years worth more than they 
might have been otherwise.
  I know that words are inadequate on my part to tell you how much you 
mean to me as a person, and why I will miss this institution, not 
because of the partisan bantering that takes place, but because of the 
genuine kind of dialog and fellowship that I have learned to develop 
and I have learned to develop with people like you. I love you very 
much. Thank you for your kind words.

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