[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1257-E1258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMENDING THE GARY, INDIANA NAACP

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to commend the 
members of the Gary, Indiana, branch of the National Association for 
the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Tonight, June 25, 1998, the 
Gary NAACP will hold its thirty-fifth annual Life Membership Banquet 
and Scholarship Diner at St. Timothy community Church, in Gary.
  This annual event is a major fundraiser for the Gary branch of the 
NAACP. The funds generated through this activity, and others like it, 
go directly to the organization's needed programs and advocacy efforts. 
In addition, the dinner serves to update and keep the community aware 
of the activities, accomplishments, and accolades of the local and 
national chapters of the NAACP on an annual basis. This year's banquet 
will feature the branch's own Dr. Randall C. Morgan, Jr., a resident of 
Valparaiso, as the keynote speaker. Dr. Morgan, a second generation 
life member, has been a proud Golden Heritage Member of the NAACP for 
fifteen years, and he is the immediate past President of the National 
Medical Association.
  Tonight, the Gary NAACP will honor seven of Northwest Indiana's 
finest leaders for their efforts to further equality in society. 
Joining more than five hundred outstanding civil, community, and 
religious leaders of the region, the following distinguished 
individuals will be inducted as life members of the Gary NAACP: Frances 
Boler, of Gary; Edward Evans, of Gary; Walter James, of Gary; Floyd 
Mask, of Gary; Gussie Mask, of Gary; Mozella Stone, of Gary; and James 
Thomas, of Munster. In addition, Richard Williams, of Gary, will be 
awarded a scholarship for his excellence as a student, an activist, and 
a leader. This four thousand dollar scholarship will help finance 
Richard's college education at a college or university of his choice.
  The Gary NAACP was organized in 1915 by a group of residents that 
felt there was a need

[[Page E1258]]

for an organization that would monitor and defend the rights of 
African-Americans in Northwest Indiana. The national organization, of 
which the Gary branch is a member, focuses on providing better and more 
positive ways of addressing the important issues facing minorities in 
social and job-related settings. Like the national organization, the 
Gary branch of the NAACP serves its community by combating injustice, 
discrimination, and unfair treatment in our society.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to join 
me in paying tribute to Frances Boler, Edward Evens, Walter James, 
Floyd Mask, Gussie Mask, Mozella Stone, James Thomas, and Richard 
Williams, as well as the other members of the Gary NAACP, for the 
efforts, activities, and leadership that these outstanding men and 
women have utilized to improve the quality of life for all residents of 
Indiana's First Congressional District.

                          ____________________