[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 51 (Friday, April 19, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3709-S3711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO RON BROWN
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, just 2 weeks ago, this Nation was saddened
and anguished by the tragic death of Commerce Secretary Ron Brown and
32 other Government and business leaders in Croatia. As a very close
personal friend of Ron Brown's, I regret deeply, Mr. President, that I
could not be here to console his widow, Alma, and his children, Michael
and Tracy, in their time of grief. My thoughts and prayers today, as
they have been over the last several weeks, are with the Brown family
and with the families of all of the victims of this terrible tragedy.
Although we have many pressing issues before us in this body, Mr.
President, I want to take just a few minutes, if I can, to reflect and
remember the extraordinary and distinguished legacy of Ron Brown. As I
stand before the Senate here today, many thoughts come to mind, Mr.
President, about Ron Brown--civil rights activists, Democratic Party
chairman, Commerce Secretary, bridge builder, and certainly a very
close and dear personal friend.
Beyond my great sense of personal loss, Mr. President, when I think
of Ron Brown I also think of public service and public servant. From
all the time that I knew Ron Brown, from when he was a trusted aide to
our colleague, Senator Kennedy, to when he was chairman of the
Democratic Party and his last role as Secretary of Commerce, Ron Brown
epitomized, in my view, what public service is all about. Ron Brown
labored tirelessly for what he believed in. It seemed that no obstacle
could prevent him from attaining his goals.
At a time when respect for public service and public servants has
diminished, when pundits too often cynically demean those who serve
America, Ron Brown presented the quiet dignity that comes with superb
public servants. Ron believed that one person committed to a task with
conviction in their heart could make a difference, and he certainly
did. His labors were the embodiment of George Bernard Shaw's timeless
words, ``You see things, and you say why; but I dream things that never
were and say why not.''
On April 3, when Secretary Brown's plane crashed in Croatia, Mr.
President, I was in Ireland to fulfill a long-standing commitment.
Together with Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith and Prime Minister Bruton,
we attended and participated in a wonderful memorial service dedicate
to Ron Brown's memory at St. Patrick's Cathedral.
I say as an aside, Mr. President, we anticipated 30 or 40 people
would show up, maybe from the Embassy staff, to come by and pay their
respects. In fact, over 500 people unannounced showed up at the
cathedral that morning to participate in that service. I want to thank
Dean Stewart, who was in charge of St. Patrick's Cathedral, along with
other members of the clergy from throughout Ireland who participated
that morning, as well as some very distinguished people who sang and
purchased musical pieces in memory of Ron Brown, not to mention the 500
people that came from across the island of Ireland to express their
sense of loss.
For all of us there that morning, Mr. President, our remembrances of
Ron Brown hearken back to the visit he had made to Ireland 2 years ago,
to which I was a member, a trip not unlike the one to Croatia,
involving some 15 chief executive officers of businesses in this
country, as well as others from the House and the Senate that were part
of an economic mission to Northern Ireland.
A visit, Ambassador Smith reminded us, which led to President Clinton
to dub Ron Brown an ``honorary Irishman,'' and it was mentioned again
by her that morning at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Ron Brown, Mr.
President, had come to Ireland with an ambitious but challenging goal:
To make the dream of peace during the formal cease-fire in Northern
Ireland a reality. Certainly, it was no easy task, as we know, even
today.
For anyone who knew Ron Brown, there were not too many challenges
that phased him. While I had known him for many years, it was on that
trip to Ireland that I had the opportunity to see firsthand the
enthusiasm and optimism that infused him.
Remarkably, Mr. President, I watched an African-American man, born
and raised in Harlem, with no ethnic or religious connection to
Ireland, come to that island and champion the peace process and the
opportunities for economic development. While on that trip, Ron Brown
became the first U.S. Cabinet secretary to make an official visit to
Belfast.
The success of Ron's trip to Ireland prompted President Clinton to
send Ron on many other missions across the globe, including the one to
the former Yugoslavia, a mission which ended so tragically on that
rainy and wind-swept mountain in Croatia. This final mission, Mr.
President, was one of many that Ron tirelessly made to the world's
troubled spots promoting American companies and American workers.
As Secretary of Commerce, on one level, Ron's job, of course, was to
promote U.S. business interests, which he did very, very well. But for
all who knew Ron Brown well, his interests ran much deeper than that.
Ron Brown used the legitimate goal of increasing U.S. economic
opportunities as a means of advancing other interests as well.
Ron traveled to many places that are beginning the difficult journey
toward reconciliation and economic revitalization because, as a public
man, a public servant, he believed that the dynamism of private
enterprise could help bring lasting peace to regions that, for years,
had known only violence and hatred.
But Ron Brown understood that these trips were about more than just
helping business or free enterprise. As Ambassador Smith noted in her
eulogy in Dublin a week ago, these trips were truly--to use her words--
``peace and democracy missions, too, missions of hope and idealism.''
Mr. President, these trips were about promoting the importance of
work, and the notion that through economic opportunity, the process of
political reconciliation could begin and, more importantly, could last.
In the absence of it, of course, no permanent healing will ever
occur.
From Ron Brown's earliest days, at his first job carrying records and
reading public service announcements at WLIB-AM, a radio station in
Harlem, he understood the critical importance of work. He understood
that there is nothing as rewarding, for individuals or a nation, as
waking up in the morning, going to work, and coming home in the evening
knowing that you have earned a true wage.
That is why Ron Brown went to Ireland and so many other places, and
it is why he was in the Balkans on that tragic evening.
Ron Brown knew that after the peace treaties were signed and when the
guns were finally laid to rest, the possibility of a truly lasting
peace anyplace around the globe would depend on every person having the
same opportunity to realize today the dream of a far better tomorrow
for themselves and their families.
When Ron Brown journeyed to the Balkans, he took with him the
unquenchable spirit of American optimism. He sought to use American
enterprise and the American can-do spirit to promote economic
development as a means of bringing a truly lasting peace. And he sought
to heal the lingering anguish of ethnic violence with a promise of a
brighter future for all the peoples of the region.
Ron Brown leaves this world, Mr. President, with an amazing legacy.
He was the first African-American to head a major political party in
our country. He was the first African-American to be Secretary of
Commerce. He rebuilt the Democratic Party, and he certainly
[[Page S3710]]
helped to elect President Clinton in 1992. He used the Commerce
Department to create millions of jobs for American workers and spread
the doctrine of economic development and cooperation across the globe.
Ron Brown enjoyed a full and all-too-brief life on this Earth and
must be a source of inspiration to all of us, in not just Government,
but in our Nation as a whole.
In Ireland, Prime Minister Bruton described Ron Brown in these words,
which I think bear repeating--as a role model ``for those looking for
inspiration as to how a life can be led for the good of others.''
Ron Brown understood, Mr. President, that our lives must have purpose
and direction. And we can best remember him by emulating the way he
lived his life. Mr. President, I think the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson
said it well when he said, ``I expect to pass through this world but
once. Any good therefore that I can do or any kindness that I can show
for any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect
it, for I shall not pass this way again.''
Ron Brown's life symbolized these solemn words. While he passed
through our world, Mr. President, he did good. He showed kindness and,
regrettably--so regrettably--he will not pass this way again.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the comments of our
Ambassador, Jean Kennedy Smith, along with an article that appeared in
the Irish Times, which captured, as well, the remarks of Prime Minister
Bruton, who spoke at the memorial service in Dublin, be printed in the
Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in
the Record, as follows:
Remarks by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith at Memorial Service for
Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown and His Delegation
Taoiseach, distinguished guests, and friends of Ron Brown,
of Chuck Meissner, and of the other brave pioneers for peace
whose lives of courage and service were so tragically cut
short last week.
This has, indeed, been a sad week for America, a sad week
for Ireland. We have lost friends. But today, we gather not
only to mourn them, but to celebrate their lives.
Last night, I spoke with Alma Brown and told her of the
memorial service we were holding today. She was so pleased
that Ron was to be remembered in this way by the people of
Ireland, because this country was so important to him.
I first met Ron Brown in the fall of 1979. My brother, Ted,
was about to begin a campaign for President of the United
States in 1980. My husband, Steve, was to manage the
campaign, as he had done for my brothers, Jack and Bob. Steve
needed a deputy campaign manager for civil rights, and
everyone said that Ron Brown was the perfect choice--a new
young leader in the civil rights movement, and a worthy heir
of the Reverend Martin Luther King.
We all loved Ron from the start. He served far above and
beyond the call of duty in the campaign. He gave his heart to
Ted and Steve and all of us in the Kennedy family gave our
hearts to Ron.
In the years since, I saw him often, most recently during
his frequent visits to Ireland. He once told me that he felt
a special welcome and sense of humanity in Ireland, even for
those who are not of Irish descent. In fact, he enjoyed his
time here so much that President Clinton dubbed him an
honorary Irishman.
Ron Brown was an original. I never met a person who had
greater ability to go into a hornet's nest, come out with the
honey, and leave all the bees laughing. No tunnel was too
long or too dark for Ron to not see the light at the end. His
warmth, and wit, and optimism were inspiring and infectious.
He was a charismatic leader, who was good at every job he
ever took on--as a leader in the civil rights movement,
chairperson of the Democratic National Committee, and as the
Secretary of Commerce. A son of Harlem, he was a remarkable
American success story, and he dedicated his life to helping
others achieve their potential and their dreams, as he had
one.
He brought that same spirit of optimism to Ireland. As he
said during President Clinton's historic visit, he found a
``belief in self that wasn't here before.''
``We are on a path,'' he said, ``and we won't be denied.''
Ron was deeply committed to public service, and he
instilled that commitment in all who worked for him; in Chuck
Meissner, his tireless assistant secretary of commerce, who
felt very strongly the pulse for peace in Northern Ireland,
and in all those from the Department of Commerce who are here
today. The mission Ron Brown led to South Africa and China,
to the Middle East and Northern Ireland, and, finally, to
Bosnia, were more than trade missions. They were peace and
democracy missions too, missions to hope and idealism. The
understood that peace, prosperity, and economic justice go
hand in hand.
As President Clinton has said, ``Ron Brown walked and ran
and flew through life. He was a magnificent life force.''
In the wake of that force, in the wake of that remarkable
life, all of us who knew Ron Brown, Chuck Meissner, and the
members of the delegation, all of us who were fortunate to be
touched by their warmth and share their vision must try to
carry on their work for peace, for that is their legacy to
us.
____
[From the Irish Times, Apr. 11, 1996]
Bruton Says Brown Was a Model for All Who Want To Help Others
(By Mark Brennock)
Politicians, business people and many others who knew Ron
Brown gathered in Dublin's St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday
to honour an African-American whom President Clinton had
dubbed ``an honorary Irishman.''
As one who had not known him the Dean of St. Patrick's the
Very Rev Maurice Stewart, said he had two images of the late
U.S. Commerce Secretary in his mind.
The first was of a man who had been praised after his death
by Northern Irish politicians of both persuasions.
The second was that when Mr. Brown was seen on television,
``he always seemed to be smiling. He was a happy man, and
these days, that is as good an image as any politician could
project.''
Mr. Brown was among 33 people killed last week when their
plane crashed in Crostia. He had been on a trade and aid
mission to Bosnia and Crotia, He was also a key figure in the
US Administration's involvement in the Northern Ireland peace
process.
The US Ambassador, Ms. Jean Kennedy Smith, told the
congregation Mr. Brown had once said he felt ``a special
welcome and sense of humanity in Ireland, even for those who
are not of Irish descent. In fact, he enjoyed his time here
so much that President Clinton dubbed him an honorary
Irishman.
``The missions Ron Brown led to South Africa and China, to
the Middle East and Northern Ireland and, finally, to Bosnia,
were more than trade missions. They were peace and
democracy missions too, missions of hope and idealism. He
understood that peace, prosperity and justice go hand in
hand.''
She said everyone who had known Mr. Brown, Mr. Chuck
Meissner and the others who died in the plane crash ``must
try to carry on their work for peace, for that is their
legacy to us.''
US Senator Chris Dodd, who had travelled to Ireland with
Mr. Brown in recent years, said on one level he had been in
Ireland to promote US business, but ``Ron Brown understood
that these trips were about far more than promoting business.
``He knew that after the peace treaties were signed and the
guns laid to rest, the possibility of a truly lasting peace
depended on each person having the same opportunity to
realize their dreams of a better tomorrow. He sought to heal
the lingering anguish and ethnic violence with the promise of
brighter opportunities.
``On the trip to Ireland, I . . . watched an African-
American born and raised in Harlem with no ties here come and
champion the cause of peace and economic opportunity in
Ireland.''
The Taoiscach, Mr. Bruton hailed Mr. Brown as a role model
``for those looking for inspiration as to how a life can be
led for the good of others''. He said Mr. Brown had brought
his experience of a Harlem upbringing and his involvement in
the civil rights movement to work towards the creation of ``a
structure of peace'' in the world.
``As head of the Irish Government I want to thank him for
the enormous interest he took in peace and prosperity on this
small island.''
Ireland was not a major strategic interest for the US, he
said. The US could have confined itself to expressing pious
words and the occasional reference to Ireland at election
time. But the Clinton Administration had gone far beyond
that.
The President, who is in the west of Ireland, was
represented at the service by her aide-decamp, Col. Bernard
Howard. The attendance included the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Mr.
Sean D. Dublin Bay Loftus.
The Government was also represented by the Minister for
Finance, Mr. Quinn; the Minister for Enterprise and
Employment, Mr. Bruton; and the Minister for Tourism and
Trade, Mr. Kenny. Ministers of State present included Mr. Pat
Rabbitte and Mr. Austin Currie.
Other politicians attending included the ?ianna ??il deputy
leader, Ms. Mary O'Rourke, the Progressive Democrats leader,
Ms. Mary Harney, and the former PD leader, Mr. Desmond
O'Malley Sinn Fein was represented by Monaghan, counsellor
Mr. * * *
There was a large representation from the US Embassy. Among
the other diplomatic missions represented were those of
Norway, Thailand, Nigeria and Israel.
A large contingent from the Department of Foreign Affairs
included the second secretary, Mr. Sean O hUiginn, the Chief
of Protocol, Mr. John O. Burke and Mr. Brendan Scannell of
the Anglo-Irish division. The Taoiscach's programme manager.
Mr. Sean Donlon, and representatives of a number of other
government Departments were also present.
Mr. FEINGOLD addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wisconsin is recognized.
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Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I appreciate the unanimous consent to
speak for 20 minutes. Let me associate myself strongly with both sets
of remarks by the Senator from Connecticut--first, as to our good
friend and great loss with regard to Secretary Brown, who we will miss
greatly. And, second, nothing could be more on our minds today than the
horror of last year in Oklahoma City. The moments of silence here and
across the country were a fitting reminder of that tragedy, but also a
time to feel some real gratitude toward the employees of our Federal
Government, who do not always get treated with all the respect and
admiration they deserve. They had a very rough year in 1995. I, for
one, want to thank them for their services and the sacrifices of their
families throughout the country, particularly with regard to those who
suffered the loss in Oklahoma City.
I thank the Senator from Connecticut for his remarks.
____________________