[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 121 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H7649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                 AARON HENRY UNITED STATES POST OFFICE

  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 892) to redesignate the Federal building located at 223 Sharkey 
Street in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as the ``Aaron Henry United States 
Post Office,'' as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 892

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DESIGNATION.

       The Federal building located at 236 Sharkey Street in 
     Clarksdale, Mississippi, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Aaron Henry Federal Building and United States 
     Courthouse''.

     SEC. 2. REFERENCES.

       Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, 
     or other record of the United States to the Federal building 
     referred to in section 1 shall be deemed to be a reference to 
     the ``Aaron Henry Federal Building and United States 
     Courthouse''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Kim) and the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia 
(Ms. Norton) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Kim).
  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 892, as amended, designates the Federal building 
and the United States Courthouse located in Clarksdale, Mississippi, as 
the ``Aaron Henry Federal Building and United States Courthouse.''
  Dr. Aaron Henry was a civil rights pioneer from the State of 
Mississippi. He was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1921. He served 
in the United States Army, after which he returned to school and earned 
a degree in pharmacy from Xavier University in 1950.
  In 1953, Dr. Henry organized the local branch of the NAACP and served 
as the State NAACP President from 1960 till 1993. He was instrumental 
in creating an integrated Democratic Party in Mississippi. He also 
participated in the Freedom Rider Movement which led to the passage of 
the Public Accommodations sections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
  In 1979, Dr. Henry was elected to the Mississippi House of 
Representatives and held this office for two additional terms. On the 
national level, Dr. Henry assisted in securing Congressional support 
for the passage of the Office of Economic Opportunity, out of which 
came programs such as Head Start and Job Corps.
  The naming of this Federal complex is a fitting tribute to a 
distinguished African American. I support the bill and urge my 
colleagues to support the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time
  Ms. NORTON. Mr. Speaker I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in favor of the Aaron Henry Federal 
Building and United States Courthouse. In doing so, I must say, Mr. 
Speaker, that I do so out of great and personal respect for a man with 
whom I worked with when I was a young woman in the civil rights 
movement.
  When I went south in 1963 as a student in the Student Non-Violent 
Coordinating Committee, Aaron Henry, in Mississippi, was a fearless 
freedom fighter who every day risked his life simply by living through 
each day as the President of the NAACP as a pharmacist at a time when 
the State of Mississippi was known throughout the world for racial 
terrorism. This is a man who did as much as any man alive to bring the 
black and white Mississippians together.
  As a young lawyer, I represented the Mississippi Freedom Democratic 
Party before the 1964 Democratic convention when the Freedom Democrats, 
blacks who were excluded from participation in the Democratic Party in 
the State, challenged the official Democratic Party and delegation. 
Aaron Henry was the cochair of that delegation. It says everything 
about our country and about Dr. Henry, that he lived to become the 
chair of the Mississippi Democratic Party itself.
  H.R. 892 is a bill to designate the Federal building in Clarksdale, 
Mississippi, and the Aaron Henry Federal Building and United States 
Courthouse.
  Dr. Aaron Henry was a civil rights pioneer, a thoughtful mentor, 
scholar and great humanitarian. He led an active, committed, exemplary 
life. After attending the local public schools in 1942, he joined the 
Army and was a veteran of World War II. After the war, he attended and 
graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans. In 1953, Dr. Henry 
organized the Coahoma County branch of the NAACP and served as the 
state NAACP president.
  From 1960 to 1993, during the 1960s, he participated in the Freedom 
Rider movement and in the Mississippi Freedom Summer's nonviolent 
campaigns of public protest.
  Dr. Henry served on numerous boards, such as the Executive Committee 
of the NAACP, the Federal Council on Aging and the Southern Christian 
Leadership Conference. Acknowledging his contributions as a civil 
rights leader in 1979, the citizens of Coahoma County elected him to 
the Mississippi House of Representatives, where he was reelected in 
1983 and 1987.
  Dr. Henry was instrumental in securing passage of legislation which 
created the Office of Economic Opportunity, and was a strong advocate 
and spokesman for the Job Corps and Head Start. Dr. Henry was an active 
member of the Haven United Methodist Church, serving as lay leader. He 
was committed to community, educational and civil issues throughout his 
rich life. It is most fitting and proper that we support the gentleman 
from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) and honor the great contributions of 
Dr. Henry.
  It gives me personal pleasure to urge the passage of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. KIM. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Kim) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 892, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof), the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was 
passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``A bill to 
designate the Federal building located at 236 Sharkey Street in 
Clarksdale, Mississippi, as the `Aaron Henry Federal Building and 
United States Courthouse'.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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