[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 119 (Wednesday, September 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1719-E1720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO SAMUEL L. JACKSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT T. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 1997

  Mr. MATSUI. Mr. Speaker, we rise today to pay tribute to an 
exceptional public servant and leader in the Sacramento community, Mr. 
Samuel L. Jackson.
  A native of Florida, Sam Jackson was born in Pensacola in 1947. Early 
on, Mr. Jackson set himself apart as an honor roll student committed to 
obtaining a worthy education. To further this goal, Mr. Jackson 
enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1966. His military service, including 
a 13-month tour of duty in Vietnam, allowed him to serve his country 
and earn money for college.
  After his discharge from the Air Force in 1970, Mr. Jackson followed 
through on his educational goals, first at Sacramento City College, and 
then at California State University, Sacramento. Following his 
graduation with honors from CSUS, Mr. Jackson enrolled at the 
University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1974. There, he 
served as president of the Black Law Students Association in 1976. At 
his graduation from McGeorge in 1977, Mr. Jackson was presented the 
Faculty Outstanding Student Achievement Award, becoming the first 
student of color to ever receive that high honor.
  As a young attorney, Sam Jackson worked as a criminal prosecutor in 
the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office from 1977 until 1979. 
Then, he accepted a position with the city of Sacramento as a deputy 
city attorney. By 1988, Mr. Jackson had risen to the position of senior 
deputy city attorney in the minimum time allowed. In 1989, he became 
the first African-American elected president of the Sacramento County 
Bar Association.
  Mr. Jackson also maintained his long-standing commitment to education 
by serving as a professor of legal studies at American River College 
from 1979 to 1994.
  In 1994, Sam Jackson's tireless efforts on behalf of the people of 
Sacramento, marked by an esteemed reputation for integrity and 
community activism, earned him the post of city attorney by a unanimous 
vote of the city council. In this position, Sam Jackson has excelled as 
a tough litigator for the city of Sacramento. But he has never foregone 
the community service endeavors which are so near to his heart, 
especially his work with children.
  As a strong advocate for the Big Brothers and Big Sisters 
organization, Little League baseball, Sacramento's St. Hope Academy, 
and the Citizenship and Law-Related Education Center, Sam Jackson has 
established a legacy of service on behalf of Sacramento's youth.
  He has also thrived in a number of influential professional legal 
organizations in California. In 1995, he became the first African-

[[Page E1720]]

American elected to the California State Bar's board of governors. He 
also became the first person of color elected president of the Alumni 
Association for his alma mater, McGeorge Law School.
  Mr. Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us in saluting Samuel L. 
Jackson for a remarkable record of professional excellence and 
community service. The people of Sacramento are the proud beneficiaries 
of Sam Jackson's hard work and good citizenship.

                          ____________________