[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 6 (Wednesday, February 4, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H304-H305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO DR. JOHN MORTON-FINNEY, FROM INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentlewoman from Indiana (Ms. Carson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. CARSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise on a very humble occasion to pay
tribute to the life and work of Dr. John Morton-Finney, a 108-year-old
gentleman of my district, and for whom family, friends and admirers
paid final tribute on last Saturday.
Dr. John Morton-Finney, the son of George and Mattie M. Gordon
Morton-Finney, was born in 1889 in Uniontown, Kentucky. He was the son
of a former slave. His ancestors migrated from Ethiopia to what is now
Nigeria before becoming enslaved in America. He was reared in a family
in which the old people never forgot about their African heritage.
Mr. Morton-Finney was the last surviving member of the World War I
Army unit of black soldiers known as the Buffalo soldiers. Dr. Morton-
Finney was also the oldest veteran in the State of Indiana. He never
spoke of his involvement as an infantryman in World War I, except to
note with pride that he had a citation from General John J. Pershing.
During World War II, he was cited for work in the distribution of
rationing tickets.
After being honorably discharged from World War I, Dr. Morton-Finney
began teaching languages in black colleges, including Fisk University,
Nashville, Tennessee, and Lincoln University in Jefferson City,
Missouri.
In 1922, he learned there were openings in the Indianapolis public
schools. He decided to join Crispus Attucks High School, of which I am
a proud graduate; and he was hired to teach Latin, Greek, German,
Spanish and French, some of the languages that he spoke fluently. His
career spanned 47 years as teacher, department head and administrator,
enriching the lives of his students and colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, I often tell my grandsons, Andre Carson and Sam Carson,
that I wish they had an intimate opportunity to meet Dr. Morton-Finney,
because they certainly could have learned a lot from a man who had five
earned degrees in law. He had a JD from Indiana University School of
Law, AB from Butler, and the list of his earned certificates span
probably most of my life.
Then he was also cited with a lot of awards for the good work that he
did in touching the lives of young people. He often reflected on the
tangible awards and citations that he received and his achievement.
Dr. Benjamin Mays, formerly at Morehouse and now Mr. Morton-Finney
having joined him in the hereafter, once said, ``How can I articulate
the depth of my respect and the degree of my admiration for a young man
who excelled in life beyond the reach of anyone else?''
And Dr. Mays said that, ``It must be borne in mind, however, that the
tragedy in life does not lie in reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in
having no goal to reach. It is a calamity to die with dreams
unfulfilled and it is a calamity not to dream.''
{time} 1915
``No vision and you perish; no ideal and you are lost; your heart
must ever cherish some faith at any cost.''
I think that it is imperative for the Congress of the United States
to recognize the life and work of Dr. John Martin Finney, who could
have easily been a Member of the United States Congress or could have
easily been President of these United States, given the amount of
attributes and academic achievements that he amassed in his 108 years
that he was among us, a very fine individual.
I wanted to pay a special tribute to his daughter Gloria Martin
Finney who taught in the Indianapolis public school system for many
years and worked in the administration of the Indianapolis public
schools, but I think it is important as well that Dr. John Martin
Finney from Indianapolis, Indiana, be saluted for all of the fine work
that he did do during his lifetime.
Mr. Speaker, I rise on this most humble occasion to pay tribute to
the life and work of Dr. John Morton-Finney, a 108 year old gentleman
of my district and for whom family, friends and admirers paid final
tributes on Saturday, January 31, 1997.
Dr. John Morton-Finney, the son of George Morton-Finney and Mattie M.
Gordon Morton-Finney, was born June 25, 1889 in Uniontown, Kentucky.
The son of a former Kentucky slave, his ancestors migrated from
Ethiopia to what is now Nigeria before becoming enslaved in America. He
was reared in a family in which the old people never forgot about their
African Heritage.
The last surviving member of the World War I Army unit of black
soldiers known as the Buffalo Soldiers, Dr. Morton-Finney was also the
oldest veteran in Indiana. He never spoke of his involvement as an
infantry in World War I, except to note with pride that he has a
citation from General John J. Pershing. During World War II, he was
cited for work in the distribution of rationing tickets.
After being honorably discharged from World War I, Dr. Morton-Finney
began teaching languages in black colleges including Fisk University,
Nashville, Tennessee, and Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri.
In 1922, he learned there were openings in the Indianapolis public
schools. He decided to join the system and was hired to teach Greek,
Latin, German, Spanish, and French, some of the languages he spoke
fluently. His career spanned over forty-seven years, as teacher,
department head and administrator, enriching the lives of students and
his colleagues in the system.
He arrived from St, Louis, Missouri, newly married to the former
Pauline Ray, a native of Geneva, New York, and a graduate of Cornell
University. Together they enjoyed over fifty-two years of marital
contentment, and a daughter, Gloria Ann, was born to their union.
A learned man, Dr. Morton-Finney's education included:
Pd.B., Lincoln Institute, 1916
A.B., Lincoln Institute, 1920
A.B., State University of Iowa, 1922
A.M. (Ed.), Indiana University, Bloomington, 1925
A.M. (French), Indiana University, Bloomington, 1933
L.L.B., Lincoln College of Law, 1935
L.L.B., Indiana Law School, 1944
L.L.B., Indiana University, 1944
J.D., Indiana University School of Law, 1946
A.B., Butler University, 1965
Litt. D., Lincoln University, 1985
L.H.D., Butler University, 1989
Diploma Trial Advocacy, NITA, 1987
L.L.D., Martin University, 1995
Certificate of Meditation in Indiana, ICLEF, 1992
Certificate of Meditation in Indiana, Indiana Bar
Association
In addition to the immeasurable rewards a teacher gets from touching
the lives of young people, Dr. Morton-Finney often reflected on the
tangible awards and citations that he received and his achievements:
Superintendent's License, 1st Grade, Life, Indiana Public
Schools
[[Page H305]]
Veteran, W.W.I., A.E.F., France 1918
Member of the Bar of Indiana Supreme Court, 1935
Member of the Bar of U.S. District Court, 1941
Member of the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United
States, 1972
Administrator and teacher, Indianapolis Public Schools
forty-seven (47) years
Member of the bar of the Supreme Court of Indiana sixty-one
(61) years
Member Emeritus Club, Indiana University Faculty, 1975
Crowned Adeniran, I, Paramount Chief of Yoruba Descendants
in Indiana, U.S.A. by Council of Yoruba Chiefs of Nigeria,
West Africa on August 31, 1979, in an authentic African
ceremony at the Children's Museum in Indianapolis, Indiana
Distinguished Graduate, School of Education Award by
Indiana University Alumni Association, 1983
Certificate Award by Chief Justice of Supreme Court of
Indiana for Public Service, June 9, 1989
White House Invitation by President George Bush, 1990
Certificate of recognition, Board of School Commissioners,
Indianapolis Public Schools, May 22, 1990
Inducted into the Hall of Fame, National Bar Association,
Washington, D.C., August 9, 1991
Sagamore of the Wabash Award by Indiana Governor
Kentucky Colonel Award by Kentucky Governor, 1994
Honorary Member of U.S. 9th and 10th (Horse) Calvary
Association, 1995
Harvard University Invitation and Recipient of Harvard's
Certificate of Award for Public Service
Certificate Awarded by Indianapolis City Council for Public
Service, 1995
Certificate Award by Mayor of Indianapolis for Public
Service
Oldest Practicing Attorney in U.S. on June 25, 1996, at age
one hundred and seven years
Only surviving Buffalo Soldier of the U.S. Army
How can I articulate the depth of my respect and the degree of my
admiration for a young man who excelled in life beyond the reach of
anyone else. His thirst for academic excellence, his zeal for molding
character and academic achievement among all who was fortunate to be
his student.
He envisioned this country's move to a global economy when he
mastered and taught so many foreign languages. He was one of my
favorite teachers at Crispus Attucks High School.
Dr. Benjamin Mays said:
It must be borne in mind, however, that the tragedy in life
does not lie in reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in
having no goal to reach. It is not a calamity to die with
dreams unfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It is not
a disaster to be unable to capture your ideal, but it is a
disaster to have no ideal to capture. It is not a disgrace
not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars
to reach for. Not failure, but low aim is the sin.
Harriet du Autermont has beautifully said:
No vision and you perish;
No ideal, and you're lost;
Your heart must ever cherish
Some faith at any cost.
Some hope, some dream to cling to,
Some rainbow in the sky,
Some melody to sing to,
Some service that is high
To state it another way, man must live by some unattainable goal,
some goal that beckons him on, but a goal so loft, so all-embracing
that it can never be attained. In poetry it is expressed in many ways.
Man shall not live by bread alone. Man must live by affection and
love; by forgiveness, forgiveness of man and the forgiveness of God; by
God's grace, by the labors of many hands; by faith, faith in himself,
faith in others, and by faith in God. And finally man must live by his
dreams, his ideals, and unattainable goal, and what he aspires to be.
Man shall not live by bread alone.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma). Under a previous
order of the House, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Boucher) is
recognized for 5 minutes.
(Mr. BOUCHER addressed the House. His remarks will appear hereafter
in the Extensions of Remarks.)
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