[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 40 (Wednesday, April 1, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. COMMUNITY CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, April 1, 1998

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the Martin Luther King, Jr. 
Community Center in Houston as it celebrates its 30th anniversary on 
April 4, 1998.
  Begun by dedicated Vista volunteers and community leaders in the 
1960s, the King Center has grown into a multi-purpose facility that 
meets a wide range of needs, including day care, delinquency 
prevention, education, food and clothing emergency assistance, housing 
for the homeless, assistance for abused or neglected babies and 
children, and senior citizen support groups.
  I salute all who have contributed to the success of the center, 
especially Executive Director Madgelean Bush and the center's founders 
who had the vision, courage, and commitment to turn their dream into 
reality: Elizabeth Hardesty, the late Eugene Hardesty, the late Moses 
Leroy, Dr. Hardy Loe, Bob Newman, the late Barbara Russell, Ben 
Russell, Millie Simon, and the late Will Simon.
  The history of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center dates to 
a definitive study on low-income housing in Houston conducted in the 
early 1960s by the Houston Council on Human Relations. This study found 
pockets of intense poverty in Houston. As a result, the Council 
sponsored Vista volunteers to work in these areas. One of these 
volunteers was Bob Newman, who was assigned to the third ward area. To 
help him, he was assigned a volunteer support team from the First 
Unitarian Church.
  After several months in the neighborhood, Bob Newman arranged for a 
group of individuals to discuss the development of a community center. 
After a series of Tuesday night meetings, the founding group of seven 
rented a store front building at the corner of Sampson and Drew, and 
what was then known as the Sampson Street Center began its work. On the 
night that Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, the 
group met and voted to change the center's name to honor the fallen 
civil rights leader.
  While the outside volunteers provided invaluable assistance, they 
quickly realized that the Center would only succeed with the support of 
neighborhood residents. Only residents truly understood the problems 
and could bring about the changes needed to solve them. So they began 
an active and successful outreach to build support in the neighborhood. 
An election was held to establish a neighborhood board of directors. 
And residents began organizing and staffing programs that addressed 
their immediate needs.
  The priorities of the center echoed the many concerns of the 
neighborhood--the needs of children who needed a place to go while 
their parents worked, or teenagers with seemingly no direction and 
nothing to do, of adults who needed the chance at further education and 
job training.
  Grandmothers, aunts, and sisters, staffed a day care center. 
Neighborhood cleanup and rat eradication programs were started. 
Volunteers began an adult education program aimed at an eventual GED. 
Upholstery and ceramic classes were offered.
  It quickly became obvious that volunteers could only do so much and 
that staffing would be required. A grant, arranged by Bob Woodson of 
the Unitarian Service Committee, made it possible to hire Ms. Ollie 
Hollies to work the Day Care Center, and shortly after, Madge Bush was 
hired to become the director of the King Center.
  Space, always a problem, became critical as the programs grew. 
Houston had become eligible for Model Cities monies, and in 1974 a 
classroom building was built on King Center land with a Model Cities 
grant. This added space increased the day care program's capacity. Over 
the years, other programs were established: a halfway house for 
youngsters in trouble; food baskets and food collections for the needy; 
toy collections for children; and a senior citizen support program in a 
separate building with kitchen facilities that the seniors support 
themselves through quilting and Friday night fish dinner sales.
  In 1990, the Mickey Eland Crisis Nursery was added to provide 24-
hour-care for abused or neglected children and babies. Other vital 
services include programs such as sports, tutorial and counseling to 
combat delinquency and drugs and an alternative school, supported by 
the Houston Independent School District, for elementary age students 
who are having difficulties in a regular school environment. In 
addition, construction is under way on 16 family housing units in a 
project that will also include counseling, job training, and other 
services to help families.
  Today, through the dedication and hard work of Madgelean Bush, the 
staff, and volunteers, the King Center is alive and well. In every 
challenge, Madge sees hopes for a solution, and she inspires others to 
join her in the effort. I salute everyone involved with the Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Community Center throughout its 30 years of service 
and thank them for all that they have done to make Houston a better and 
more caring place.

                          ____________________