[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 106 (Friday, July 31, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9621-S9622]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              PAUL O'DWYER

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one of 
the most passionate and committed political leaders that this country 
has ever known: Paul O'Dwyer of New York City. Sadly, Mr. O'Dwyer 
recently died, one day before his 91st birthday.
  A former New York City Council President, Paul O'Dwyer was the soul 
of political activism in New York for a half-century.

[[Page S9622]]

  Author Frank McCourt mourned him as ``one of the pure souls'' who 
``developed convictions early in life and never wavered.'' And not only 
did Paul O'Dwyer hold deep convictions, he also acted on them. Mr. 
O'Dwyer once said, ``Politics is the only machinery around on which you 
can really straighten things out.'' And hardly a day went by, where 
Paul O'Dwyer didn't work to ``straighten things out'' for the people of 
our country and our world who were most in need.
  He was the quintessential champion of the underdog, and his thick 
white mane of hair became the symbol of most every significant social 
movement in New York during the past 50 years.
  The causes he championed were as diverse as the people and places of 
our great nation, but at the soul of each of his endeavors was the 
pursuit of social justice.
  He immigrated to the United States from Ireland when he was 17, and 
he worked his entire adult life for a united Ireland. He was the 
national coordinator for the American League for an Undivided Ireland. 
He worked very closely with Gerry Adams and fought for his historic 
trip to the United States so he could plead his case for peace and 
understanding in his homeland. And he insisted on meeting with 
Protestant leaders who visited our shores.
  He fought diligently for the creation of the State of Israel. As 
chairman of the Lawyer's Committee for Justice in Palestine, he pleaded 
at the United Nations in the late 1940s for Israeli sovereignty.
  He was deeply committed to ending segregation in our country. He 
successfully litigated a critical desegregation suit in 1951, which 
opened the way for blacks to live in Stuyvesant Town, a large Manhattan 
housing complex. He also went to the Deep South to register African-
American voters, campaign for black candidates, and provide legal 
assistance.
  He successfully argued before the Supreme Court for the right of 
mainland Puerto Ricans to take their voter literacy test in Spanish.
  His constant support of minority causes helped deny him a mainstream 
role in American politics. In all his efforts to win elective public 
office, he succeeded just twice, once as Manhattan's councilman at 
large and the other time as New York City Council President. He also 
won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senator in 1968, but lost the 
general election to Senator Jacob Javits. But Paul O'Dwyer didn't enter 
politics to win elections, he did so because he saw injustice in this 
country, and he was determined to eradicate it.
  In the end, Paul O'Dwyer may have lost more elections than he won, 
but his leadership was not based on titles. It was built on principles.
  Perhaps that is why few individuals have ever earned the level of 
respect and admiration that Paul O'Dwyer received from both his 
colleagues and his adversaries.
  Paul O'Dwyer was truly one of a kind, and he will be dearly missed 
for his leadership and more importantly for his friendship.

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