[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]




           CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF KENNETH ROGER THOMAS, ESQ.

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JULIAN C. DIXON

                             of california

                           HON. MAXINE WATERS

                             of california

                    HON. JUANITA MILLENDER-McDONALD

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 5, 1998

  Mr. DIXON. Mr. Speaker, I join with my colleagues Congresswoman 
Maxine Waters and Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald in 
announcing the untimely passing of one of this nation's outstanding 
minority newspaper publishers. Kenneth Roger Thomas, Esq., publisher of 
the Los Angeles Sentinel, died on November 28, 1997. He was not only a 
friend, but a valiant crusader for the truth and a compassionate man 
who ceaselessly contributed his time and energy to those who needed 
help.
  Born January 1, 1930, in Cleveland, Ohio to James Edward Thomas and 
Augusta Dickerson, Ken spent his formative years in Marietta, Ohio. He 
completed his primary and secondary education there before attending 
Ohio University from 1947-1951, where he received a bachelor's degree 
in pre-medicine. His degree took him not to medical school but to the 
military; Thomas served in the U.S. Air Force from 1951-1956 in Korea 
and Japan, achieving the rank of First Lieutenant.
  Upon returning to the states in 1956, Ken studied law at Ohio State 
University, earning his bachelor of laws and doctor of laws degrees in 
1958 and 1967, respectively. He began his successful private law 
practice in 1960, and served as a California Probate Referee from 1974 
until his death. Ken utilized his keen legal mind to assist and advise 
a number of organizations, including the Los Angeles Fair Housing 
Council, the NAACP, and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Over 
the course of his career, he served on the boards of the California 
Rapid Transit District, the Los Angeles Urban League, and the National 
Newspaper Publishers Association.
  Ken's affiliation with the Sentinel began with his service as 
longtime attorney for Ruth Washington, the widow of Sentinel founder 
and civil rights activist Col. Leon H. Washington, Jr. Col. Washington 
died in 1974, leaving the paper to his wife, who made Ken CEO in 1983. 
Ken brought tremendous energy and vision to the Sentinel, which had 
been foundering amid huge debts and antiquated equipment. Through his 
herculean efforts, the weekly was equipped with computers, its finances 
were stabilized, and the physical plant was renovated. Meanwhile, Ken 
found the stamina to maintain his private law practice and help the 
less fortunate, often playing Santa Claus for foster children at 
Christmas.
  Ken was also important to the Sentinel and the Los Angeles community 
because he maintained the paper's commitment to relating the black 
experience to the general public, covering stories not told by the 
mainstream papers and providing frank commentary untinged by racial 
bias. He maintained an active interest in Los Angeles politics and was 
a trusted confidant and advisor to several community and political 
leaders.
  Ken's tenacity, courage, conviction, love, and generosity will be 
sorely missed by us all. Maxine, Juanita, and I strongly urge our 
colleagues to join us in extending condolences to his loving wife 
Jennifer, his daughter Maria K. Thomas of Los Angeles, his extended 
family, and his many devoted friends.

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