[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 101 (Wednesday, July 16, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1436]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO FRANK PARKER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 16, 1997

  Mr. THOMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Mr. Frank 
Parker who died on Thursday, July 10, 1997. He was born in Mount 
Pleasant, PA. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1962 and then spent 
2 years at University College, Oxford University, England. In 1966, he 
received his juris doctorate degree from Harvard Law School.
  After law school, he began his distinguished career in the Office of 
the General Counsel of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. He wrote the 
commission's report, ``Political Participation'' in 1968.
  Mr. Speaker, I first met this giant of a man in 1968 while he was a 
lawyer in the Mississippi office of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil 
Rights Under Law. He served courageously in the protection of civil 
rights of black Mississippians in this office for 13 years. Mr. Parker 
was a strong advocate for voting rights and worked vigorously for 
passage of the Motor Voter Act. His tireless fight for justice and 
equality is one of the defining principles of his life.
  Mr. Parker was a MacArthur Foundation Distinguished Scholar at the 
Joint Center for Political Studies in Washington, DC, in 1985 and 1986 
and spent the year doing research for ``Black Votes Count.'' The book 
was honored by the American Political Science Association, the 
Mississippi Historical Society, and the Gustavus Myers Center for the 
Study of Human Rights in the United States.
  In 1992 and 1993, Mr. Parker returned to the Joint Center for 
Political Studies and did research for a book supporting affirmative 
action. Mr. Parker taught at the District of Columbia School of Law 
from 1992 to 1995. He taught law at American University for a year 
before leaving to take a position as a visiting professor of 
constitutional law at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA.
  Mr. Parker leaves a proud legacy as a husband, father, brother, 
mentor, civil rights leader, community activist, and great American.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you to join me in saluting the late attorney Frank 
Parker for his outstanding contributions to this Nation.

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