[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 7 (Thursday, February 5, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E106]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN RECOGNITION OF MAYOR LIONEL WILSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. RONALD V. DELLUMS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 5, 1998

  Mr. DELLUMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a historic figure, Lionel 
Wilson, who was elected in 1977 as the first African American Mayor of 
the City of Oakland, California. Lionel passed away recently at the age 
of 82 and left a legacy that forever changed the political contours of 
the city.
  Born in New Orleans, Lionel came to his ``hometown'' of Oakland, 
California with his family at age 3. He attended Clawson Elementary and 
McClymonds High School. Lionel went to law school and eventually became 
the first African American Superior Court Judge in Alameda County. The 
Wilson Family became a cornerstone of the West Oakland neighborhood 
during its economic and social heydays of the forties and fifties. 
Lionel served as Chair of an anti-poverty board in the sixties and 
seventies that came out of the Great Society legislation under 
President Lyndon Baines Johnson.
  When Oakland elected Lionel in 1977, City Hall was boldly turned 
around as his compassionate but firm leadership brought access to those 
who had been denied access. Wilson opened up city government for blacks 
and other minorities, creating a new Oakland that paved the way for a 
new generation of minority politicians. Critical to policy decision is 
the city budget which was the responsibility of the city manager; 
however, his insistence that the mayor must have an important role in 
the process led to a three-term mayor serving for 12 years. His broad 
vision can be seen in the development of downtown Oakland and its 
neighborhoods.
  One passion that Lionel and I share is the love for baseball, in 
fact, to be professional players. As you see, history had other plans. 
Lionel Wilson will be greatly missed and remembered by all as a man 
with a vision for the City of Oakland.

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