[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 12 (Tuesday, February 4, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S972-S973]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO BEATRICE RUTH FAIRFAX

 Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I want to take a moment to 
talk about Beatrice Ruth Fairfax, a constituent of mine who died on 
January 14, 1997, at the age of 84, after a lifetime of making a 
difference in the lives of those she touched. She will be sorely missed 
by her family, friends, and community.
  Upon her graduation from Hyde Park High School, Beatrice Fairfax 
worked as a writer and became involved in many civil rights and labor 
union causes. She met her husband, Bob Fairfax through their 
involvement in cultural arts activities with the Works Progress 
Administration [WPA]. They married in 1935 and eventually settled in 
the Altgeld-Murray public housing development as one of Altgeld's first 
interracial families. The Fairfaxes worked tirelessly to improve the 
quality of life for public housing residents. They founded and managed 
the community's first newspaper, the Altgeld Beacon, while working as 
beat reporters for the Chicago Defender Newspaper. They also 
established numerous Boy Scout troops throughout the Chicago Housing 
Authority [CHA], and founded the Jackson Raiders, an award winning drum 
and bugle corps. In keeping with Mrs. Fairfax's philosophy, ``Before a 
community can make social sense, it has to make economic sense,'' the 
Fairfaxes also participated in the establishment of one of the 
country's first and largest black owned food co-op stores, which was 
owned by 300 black families and patronized by thousands of public 
housing residents. In addition, the Fairfaxes were two of the original 
plaintiffs in Gautreaux versus Chicago Housing Authority, a landmark 
case which resulted in the end of racially discriminatory practices of 
the CHA.
  After her retirement from the Illinois Department of Labor, Mrs. 
Fairfax continued to be active in community affairs and maintained 
affiliations with the American Association of Retired Persons, American 
Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, Boy Scouts of 
America, Girl Scouts of Chicago, Chicago Parent Teacher Association, 
Citizen Utility Board, Chicago Urban League, Chicago Sinai 
Congregation, Jewish Council for the Elderly, Illinois Public Action 
Council, and the Friends of the Chicago Children's Choir, to name a 
few. In addition to her many substantial accomplishments, on a personal 
note, I must say that Bea Fairfax was one of the kindest and most 
generous people I have known. She didn't just talk the talk, but walked 
the walk. Her life was truly dedicated to improving the lives of 
others. No one knows that more than her

[[Page S973]]

family, including her daughters, Joyce Theresa Fairfax-Wells, and Ruth 
Mary Fairfax-Frazier, her son-in-law, Anthany Frazier, her former son-
in-law, Cornell Wells her grandchildren, Annika Frazier-Muhammad, 
Darius Frazier, Monnica Wells, and Jacqueline Wells, her great 
grandson, Hamza Ibn Omar Frazier-Muhammad, and many other relatives, 
friends, and members of the community she helped to create. Her death 
is a great loss, but the legacy of her good works will endure.

                          ____________________