[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 44 (Tuesday, April 15, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E657-E658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MS. EARTHA KITT

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 15, 1997

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of South 
Carolina's outstanding natives, Ms. Eartha Kitt.
  Ms. Kitt's personal story reminds me of the famous Harlem Renaissance 
poet Langsten Hughes who posed the question, ``What happens to a dream 
deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Of fester like a 
sore--And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar 
over--like a syrup sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does 
it explode?''
  Luckily, Eartha Kitt never considered deferring her dreams. Born on a 
cotton plantation in South Carolina, the young Eartha Kitt left the 
South to live with an aunt in New York at the age of eight. It was 
there that she blossomed into the magnificent entertainer she is today.
  She has danced and sung her way to become one of the country's 
consummate cabaret performers, taken Broadway and the Silver Screen by 
storm, and amassed accolades from Tony, Emmy, and Academy Award 
nominations to receiving her own star on Hollywood Boulevard's Walk of 
Fame.
  Ms. Kitt has also demonstrated her outspoken dedication to her 
strongly held beliefs. Her vocal opposition to the Vietnam war at a 
White House luncheon in 1968 resulted in her being blacklisted by the 
American entertainment community. That setback didn't stop Ms. Kitt 
from taking her act overseas where she still has a devoted following.
  I applaud and commend the contributions this South Carolina native 
has made to the entertainment industry. Her inspiring career, which had 
its humble beginnings on a cotton plantation in the deep South, has 
enchanted audiences around the world. As a result of her 
accomplishments, Eartha Kitt has become a living legend.

[[Page E658]]

  Today, on behalf of the State of South Carolina, I offer a word of 
thanks as Ms. Kitt embarks on a performance from her heart. This week 
she participates in a special homecoming performance of Walter 
Rutledge's ``SOULS--The Calah'' benefiting Benedict College in 
Columbia, SC. Ms. Kitt's extraordinary talents, which have endeared 
this woman of the South to an international audience, will now be 
showcased for those back home.
  I join with all South Carolinians in thanking Eartha Kitt for the 
example she has set, the accomplishments she has achieved, and the 
contributions she has made to our cultural livelihood. Her life as a 
testament to what one can achieve if their dreams are not deferred.

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